BX  7327    .Al  M8 

Moore,  William  Thomas,  1832- 
1926. 

The   living  pulpit  of  the 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 
in  2014 


littps://arcliive.org/details/livingpulpitofcliOOmoor_0 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT  OF  THE 
CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 


THE 


Living  Pulpit  "^^4^^ 


mi  sL 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH: 


A  SERIES  OF  DISCOURSES, 


DOCTRINAL  AND  PRACTICAL, 


FROM  REPRESENTATIVE  MEN  AMONG  THE 


disciples  of  CHRISr. 


ARRANGED  AND   EDITED  BY 

W.    T.  "^M  O  O  R  E  . 


ST.  LOUIS: 
CHRISTIAN  PUBLISHING  CO. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  Dy 


the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Distrifl  Court  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  Southern  Distrift  of  Ohio. 


Contents. 


SUBJECT.  CONTRIBOTOR.  FAGB. 

Introduction                                                 Editor   il 

The  Good  Confession   D.  S.  Burnet. ...  47 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  Theanthropos   H.  T.  Anderson..  71 

Atonement   Thomas  Munnell.  87 

Jesus  the  First  and  the  Last   L.  L.  Pinkerton..  105 

Reconciliation   James  Challen. . .  131 

Christ's  Precious  Invitation   L.  B.  Wilkes....  147 

What  must  I  do  to  be  Saved?   O.  A.  Burgess...  167 

The  Conditions  of  the  Gospel  Reasonable...  G.  W.  Longan..  187 

Regeneration   Robert  Graham..  209 

Christ's  Conversation  with  Nicodemus   M.  E.  Lard..,.  231 

Baptism — Its  Action,  Subject,  and  Design  ....  J.  S.  Sweeney. . .  255 

Baptism  Essential  to  Salvation   W.  H.  Hopson. . .  279 

The  Ministry  of  the  Holy  Spirit   W.  K.  Pendleton.  305 

The  Witness  of  the  Spirit   J-W.  M'Garvey.  327 

The  Church — Its  Identity   Benj.  Franklin. . .  341 


vi  CONTENTS. 

(OBJXCT.  CONTRIBOTOK  PAOK. 

Building  on  the  One  Foundation...   T.  P.  Haley....  359 

The  Safety  and  Security  of  the  Christian...  R.  Milligan   371 

The  Priesthood  of  Christ   John  Shackelford.  389 

The  History  of  Redemption  Reproduced  in 

THE  Redeemed   J'S.  Lamar ....  401 

Death  and  Life   David  Walk....  413 

The  Love  of  God   William  Baxter.  431 

Glorying  in  the  Cross  only                            C.  L.  Loos   447 

The  Law  of  Progressive  Development   Isaac  Errett . . . .  471 

Conscience  and  Christianity   A.  S.  Hayden...  497 

The  Mission  of  the  Church  of  Christ   Tolbert  Fanning.  517 

Faith  and  Sight   W.  T.  Moore...  539 

Retribution   A.  R.  Benton...  561 

The  Judgment  to  Come   Joseph  King....  577 


Publishers'  Preface. 


TN  issuing  this  volume  the  Publishers  desire  to  say  a 
few  words  by  way  of  explanation. 
When  they  conceived  the  idea  of  publishing  a  series 
of  discourses  from  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  they  were  at  a 
loss  how  to  discriminate  in  the  seledlion  of  persons  from 
whom  to  solicit  contributions.  There  had  come  to  be 
such  a  host  of  talented  men  engaged  in  the  great  cause  to 
which  they  dedicate  their  lives — so  many  of  them  elo- 
quent, learned,  and  powerful — that  it  was  very  difficult  to 
decide  who  would  most  fitly  represent  the  Ministry  of  the 
Church.  While  they  believe  they  offer  to  the  public 
contributions  from  Representative  Men  in 'the  ministry, 
they  know  that  there  remains  ample  material  for  the  prep- 
aration of  other  series  of  sermons,  equally  representing 
the  talent  and  learning  of  the  preachers  of  the  Church. 
And  it  is,  and  has  been,  their  intention  to  follow  the 
present  volume,  in  due  course,  with  a  second,  and,  pos- 
sibly, a  third,  until  the  series  shall  be  so  complete  as 

(vii) 


Vlll 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE. 


fairly  and  fully  to  represent  the  Living  Pulpit  of  the 
Christian  Church,  and  shall  embody  a  mass  of  sermons 
wherein  all  the  vital  or  important  points  bearing  upon  the 
faith,  condudt,  and  salvation  of  man  will  be  ably  and  elo- 
quently discussed — furnishing  in  itself  such  a  library  of 
religious  literature  as  will,  next  to  the  Bible,  supply  the 
Christian  with  his  best  armor  for  defensive  and  offen- 
sive warfare  with  Infidelity,  as  well  as  with  those  who  do 
not  hold  to  the  faith  of  the  Disciples. 

There  is  one"  remarkable  fad  which  the  Publishers  be- 
lieve worthy  of  attention.  In  this  work  are  sermons  from 
the  pens  of  twenty-eight  preachers,  scattered  here  and  there 
over  the  United  States,  who  wrote  without  any  consulta- 
tion, and  without  knowing  what  subjefts  would  be  treated 
by  others,  or  what  others  would  say;  and  yet  there  has 
been  no  conflidt  of  opinion — no  contradidlions  or  differ- 
ence of  views — showing  that  the  great  body  of  the  min- 
istry is  a  unit  on  the  vital  and  material  questions  which 
distinguish  the  church  organization  of  the  Disciples  from 
that  of  others. 

The  biographical  sketches  were  written  by  the  Editor, 
though  the  limited  space  to  which  he  was  necessarily  con- 
fined, and  the  meager  data  with  which  he  was  furnished 
in  many  instances,  gave  him  but  a  poor  opportunity  to 
do  justice  to  the  subjeds.    The  opinions  he  has  expressed 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE. 


IX 


are  his  estimates  of  the  charafters  and  abilities  of  the  emi- 
nent persons  to  whom  they  relate;  and,  while  he  does  not 
claim  infallibility  for  what  he  has  said,  it  is  believed  the 
sermons  themselves  will  vindicate  his  high  appreciation 
of  their  authors.  He  was  fully  impressed  with  the  deli- 
cacy of  his  task,  but  has  the  satisfa6lion  of  knowing  that 
he  has  discharged  his  duty  in  a  conscientious  and  im- 
partial manner. 

The  Publishers  might  further  say,  that  the  appearance 
of  a  Discourse  in  this  colledtion,  from  the  pen  of  the 
Editor,  was  mainly  due  to  the  fa6l  that  they  announced 
him  in  the  Prospeftus  Book  as  a  contributor,  without 
his  knowledge  or  consent.  This,  and  the  urgent  solici- 
tation of  friends,  did  not  leave  him  at  liberty  to  decline. 

The  Publishers  feel  a  just  pride  in  the  elegant  style  in 
which  they  have  issued  this  work.  They  do  not  fear  a 
comparison  with  the  best  workmanship  of  the  country, 
and  they  believe  that  they  have  demonstrated  that  books 
can  be  published  from  the  great  metropolis  of  the  West 
in  as  attractive  a  style  as  from  the  more  pretentious  cities 
of  the  East. 


Introduction. 


THE  religious  movement  known  as  the  "Current 
Reformation,"  marks  an  important  era  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church.  Previous  to  its  inauguration,  the 
condition  of  religion  in  this  country  was  truly  deplora- 
ble. Numerous  religious  parties,  whose  very  existence 
depended  on  the  propagation  of  the  selfishness  which 
brought  them  into  being,  usurped  the  place  of  the 
"One  Body,"  and  became  the  exponents  of  the  Chris- 
tian civilization.  Ignorance  and  superstition  were  more 
valuable  to  these  parties  than  an  intelligent  understand- 
ing of  the  Word  of  God.  Human  creeds  became  the 
standards  of  faith  and  pradlice,  while  the  Divine  Creed 
was  held  by  many  to  be  little  more  than  a  "dead  letter." 
Consequently,  for  a  time,  the  very  life  of  religion  became 
subje6t  to  a  selfish  and  unrelenting  despotism.  Whoever 
impartially  examines  this  period  of  ecclesiastical  history, 
can  not  fail  to  admit  that  a  reformation  was  greatly 
needed.  In  fad:,  the  success  of  the  Christian  religion  in 
the  world  depended  on  a  movement  that  would  break 
down  the  ecclesiasticisms  of  the  age,  and  bring  the  peo- 

(II) 


12 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


pie  back  again  to  the  true  knowledge  of  Christ.  Early 
in  the  present  century  an  attempt  at  this  was  made. 
But  before  entering  upon  a  notice  of  this  movement,  it 
is  proper  to  call  attention  to  what  previous  reformations 
had  accomplished. 

Luther's  was  a  noble  work,  but  it  was  principally  con- 
fined to  one  thing,  viz.:  the  restoration  of  freedom  of 
thought,  freedom  of  speech,  and  the  right  of  individual 
interpretation.  This  was  his  great  distinftive  work,  and, 
so  far  as  it  went,  it  was  in  exa6lly  the  right  direftion.  It 
broke  the  fetters  with  which  the  Pope  had  bound  the 
human  soul,  and  gave  liberty  once  more  to  the  individual 
conscience.    Further  than  this  it  did  not  go. 

Calvin  restored  to  the  Church  the  idea  of  God's  sov- 
ereignty. This  had  been  partially  obscured  by  the  works 
of  supererogation  which  Catholicism  enjoined  upon  its 
subjedls;  and  it  was  necessary,  to  any  satisfadory  prog- 
ress in  the  restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity,  that  the 
great  Father  should  be  properly  recognized  as  the  author 
of  "every  good  and  perfect  gift."  Extremes  beget  ex- 
tremes is  the  universal  testimony  of  history.  Hence, 
under  the  influence  of  Calvin's  teachings,  it  was  not 
ong  before  the  religious  consciousness  swung  round  to 
the  extreme  of  a  cold,  lifeless  formalism,  which  entirely 
ignored  the  human  side  in  the  plan  of  salvation,  and  left 
every  thing  to  the  unalterable  fate  of  what  were  called 
the  Divine  decrees. 

Wesley  restored  to  the  Church  the  idea  of  human 


INTRODUCTION. 


responsibility.  He  taught  that  there  was  something  for 
man  himself  to  do  in  order  to  his  salvation.  Hence  his 
teaching  infused  new  life  into  the  religious  convi6lions 
of  the  people,  and  gave  a  new  energy  to  the  work  of 
converting  the  world. 

To  sum  up  the  work  of  these  Reformations,  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  Luther  restored  Conscience  to  its  proper 
position,  Calvin  restored  the  Divine  Sovereignty^  and 
Wesley,  Human  Responsibility,  as  parts  of  the  remedial 
system.  Two  things  yet  remained  to  be  done.  The 
Word  of  God  must  be  restored  to  its  proper  au- 
thority, AND  SUCH  AN  ADJUSTMENT  MADE  OF  THE  ELE- 
MENTS ELIMINATED  BY  THE  REFORMATIONS  JUST  REFERRED 
TO  AS  WOULD  SECURE  A  RAPID  AND  HARMONIOUS  DEVEL- 
OPMENT   OF    THE    RELIGION    OF    ChRIST    IN    THE  WORLD. 

This,  of  course,  would  involve  a  complete  restoration 
of  the  primitive  order  of  things  ;  and  this  was  the  work 
proposed  by  the  Reformation  of  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury. A  few  words  concerning  the  origin  and  charadter 
of  this  movement  are  necessary  at  this  point. 

In  the  year  1807,  Thomas  Campbell,  a  Presbyterian 
minister  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  arrived  in  the  United 
States.  He  had  not  been  in  this  country  long  when  he 
co;iceived  a  plan  of  Christian  Union  upon  the  basis 
of  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone.  In  the  advocacy  of  this 
plan,  he  published  the  celebrated  "  Declaration  and 
Address,"  and  a  "Prospectus  of  a  Religious  Refor- 
mation."   The  burden  of  these  papers  was  the  ineffi- 


14 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


ciency  of  denominational  organizations,  and  the  necessity 
for  a  return  to  apostolic  teaching  and  pradlice,  before  the 
world  could  ever  be  converted  to  Christ.  Discarding 
all  human  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith,  a  society  was 
formed  in  Washington,  Pa.,  for  the  purpose  of  propa- 
gating these  sentiments.  Soon  after,  two  churches  were 
organized,  and  these  agreed  in  the  purpose  of  "absolute 
and  entire  rejeftion  of  human  authority  in  matters  of 
religion,"  and  the  determination  to  stand  by  each  other 
upon  the  proposition  that  the  "Holy  Scriptures  are  all- 
sufficient,  and  alone  sufficient,  as  the  subjedl  matter  of 
faith  and  rule  of  condud:,  and  that,  therefore,  they  would 
require  nothing,  as  a  matter  of  faith  or  rule  of  conduct, 
for  which  they  could  not  give  a  T^hus  saith  the  Lordy  either 
in  express  terms  or  by  approved  precedent."  This  was  the 
beginning  of  the  great  reformatory  movement  known 
as  the  Reformation  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  But 
Thomas  Campbell  and  those  who  operated  with  him  in 
Western  Pennsylvania  and  Western  Virginia  were  not 
alone  in  these  efforts  at  a  restoration  of  Primitive  Chris- 
tianity. In  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  Stone,  Mar- 
shall, Thomson,  Dunlevy,  and  others,  were  zealously 
advocating  the  same  principles.  Under  the  influence 
of  these  movements,  which  had  no  well-defined  organi- 
zation, a  latent  force  was  excited,  which  has  taken  the 
body  and  form  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Christian 
Church,  or  Disciples  of  Christ. 

During  these  initial  movements  to  which  we  have 


xNTRODUCTION. 


«5 


referred,  many  important  matters,  upon  which  the  Prot- 
estant parties  held  erroneous  views,  seemed  to  assume 
only  vague  and  indefinite  forms.  "The  Organization 
of  the  Church,"  "The  Call  to  the  Ministry,"  "The 
Influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  "The  Ordinance  of 
Baptism,  its  adtion,  subje6t,  and  design,"  "The  Lord's 
Supper,"  etc.,  etc.,  were  yet  to  be  purified  from  the 
dross  of  humanisms  and  restored  to  their  original  places 
in  the  Divine  Government.  In  order  to  the  more  speedy 
accomplishment  of  this  great  work,  in  the  year  1823, 
Alexander  Campbell,  who  fully  sympathized  with  the 
views  of  his  father,  Thomas  Campbell,  began  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Christian  Baptist,  a  monthly  periodical,  de- 
voted to  the  defense  of  Primitive,  Apostolic  Christian- 
ity. In  1830  this  appeared  in  enlarged  form,  under  the 
title  of  the  Millennial  Harbinger,  a  work  which  has  been 
as  extensively  read,  and  had  as  large  an  influence,  as  any 
periodical  published  within  the  present  century.  These 
papers,  in  connedtion  with  several  others  published  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  were  specially  devoted  to 
the  discussion  of  the  following  propositions: 

I.  The  all-sufficiency  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  a  rule  of 
faith  and  praEiice.  In  the  discussion  of  this  proposi- 
tion, it  was  affirmed  that  human  creeds  are  necessarily 
schismatical  in  their  tendency,  and  destructive  of  the 
best  interests  of  the  cause  of  Christ,  It  was  shown  that 
"  Christian  unity  can  result  from  nothing  short  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith^  inasmuch  as  human 


i6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


creeds  and  confessions  have  destroyed  Christian  unity."  And 
that  whenever  the  setting  aside  of  creeds  and  confessions 
shall  be  attempted^  Christians  will  give  to  the  world,  and 
to  angels,  and  to  themselves,  proof  that  they  do  t?eltev£  the 
W ord  of  God."  It  was  further  shown  that  human  creeds 
are  incapable  of  presenting  any  thing  more  than  partial 
views  of  truth.  They  are  the  products  of  human  minds, 
and  must  necessarily  be  as  short-sighted  and  imperfed 
as  the  finite  minds  that  produce  them.  Nothing  but  the 
Infinite  Mind  is  capable  of  making  a  standard  of  faith 
suitable  to  every  creature.  The  Bible  is  the  only  book 
that  can  claim  a  divine  origin,  consequently  it  is  the 
only  standard  of  faith  to  which  all  can  subscribe,  and 
Christian  union  is  not  possible  unless  all  are  willing  to 
take  it  as  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  praftice. 

I I .  Faith  in  Christ,  as  the  promised  Messiah,  and  obedi- 
ence to  His  commandments,  constitute  the  only  conditions  of 
salvation.  No  people  have  ever  exalted  the  character 
and  mission  of  Christ  in  a  greater  degree  than  the  Dis- 
ciples. In  His  divine  personality  all  perfe6lions  meet. 
He  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega  of  the  remedial  system. 
Hence,  faith  in  Him,  and  obedience  to  Him,  are  the  only 
tests  of  fellowship  in  the  Christian  Church.  This  ex- 
altation of  Christ  above  all  creeds  and  opinions  has 
been,  from  the  beginning,  one  of  the  most  distinctive 
features  of  the  movement  we  are  considering. 

III.  Christian  Baptism  is  an  immersion  in  water  into  the 
name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.    In  support  of 


INTRODUCTION. 


«7 


this  proposition  it  was  argued,  ist.  That  the  original  word 
means  to  immerse  or  its  equivalent,  and  never  means  to 
sprinkle  or  pour.  2d.  That  the  primitive  Church  un- 
questionably pradiced  immersion.  3d.  Many  passages 
of  Scripture  are  wholly  meaningless  unless  immersion 
was  the  Apostolic  pradlice.  Other  arguments  were  pre- 
sented, but  these  three  were  chiefly  relied  on  as  settling 
the  controversy. 

IV.  None  but  penitent  believers  dre  subjects  of  Baptism. 
Infant  baptism  was  held  to  be  unauthorized  by  the 
Scriptures,  and  should  not,  therefore,  be  pradticed.  One 
of  the  cardinal  rules  by  which  the  Disciples  were  guided 
was  to  do  nothing  in  religion  for  which  they  could  not 
give  a  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  either  in  express  terms  or 
by  approved  precedent."  This  rule  cut  off  infant  bap- 
tism ;  for  there  was  not  a  word  said  about  it  in  all  the  W ord 
of  God.  Besides  this  want  of  authority,  the  pradice  itself 
was  considered  very  injurious  to  the  spirituality  of  the 
Church.  It  destroyed  individual  conscience,  and  brought 
into  the  fellowship  of  Christians  a  great  many  uncon- 
verted people. 

V.  Baptism,  when  administered  to  a  believing  penitent^  is 
for  the  remission  of  past  sins.  This  proposition  was  ably 
supported,  but  the  arguments  are  too  numerous  and  too 
lengthy  to  be  given  here.  A  full  and  satisfactory  dis- 
cussion of  the  design  of  baptism  will  be  found  in  sev- 
eral of  the  discourses  which  are  to  follow. 

VI.  In  conversion  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  through  the 

2 


i8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Trutb,  and  never  without  the  Truth,  so  far  as  we  can  deter- 
mine. This  was  simply  a  question  of  fa£l  and  not  of 
power.  It  was  not  considered  what  the  spirit  could  do, 
but  what  it  a6lually  does  do.  There  was  not  a  particle 
of  satisfa<5lory  evidence  that  any  one  was  ever  converted 
without  the  instrumentality  of  the  'Truth.  It  was  deemed 
important  to  inculcate  Scriptural  views  on  this  subje6t, 
as  a  misconception  of  it  had  led  many  into  wild  and 
visionary  notions  concerning  converting  power.  Hence, 
the  whole  subjedl  of  spiritual  influence  received  consid- 
erable attention,  especially  during  the  earlier  days  of  the 
Reformation. 

VII.  'The  organization  of  the  Church  in  accordance  with 
the  Divine  models.  It  was  urged  that  both  the  Prelatical 
and  Presbyterian  views  were  contrary  to  the  apostolic 
teaching;  that  there  was  a  plurality  of  elders  or  bishops 
in  every  church,  of  equal  authority,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  take  the  oversight,  feed,  teach,  rule,  watch  for  the 
souls,  etc.,  of  the  members,  and  whose  official  author- 
ity extended  no  further  than  the  churches  in  which  they 
were  ordained.  The  duties  of  the  deacons,  in  general 
terms,  were  to  provide  for  the  necessities  of  the  poor  and 
look  after  the  temporal  interests  of  the  churches.  It 
was  claimed  that  this  was  the  apostolic  organization,  and 
that  a  return  to  this  was  positively  essential  in  order  to 
a  complete  restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity. 

VIII.  A  proper  observance  of  the  Lord' s  Supper.  The 
Supper  was  considered  an  important  part  of  every  Lord's 


INTRODUCTION. 


19 


Uay  service,  and  could  not  be  dispensed  with  without 
detriment  to  the  spiritual  growth  of  the  disciples.  Be- 
sides, there  could  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  weekly 
communion  was  the  pradice  of  the  primitive  churches. 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  most  important  points 
contended  for  by  the  advocates  of  the  current  reforma- 
tion. Several  other  interesting  questions  were  ably  dis- 
cussed, but  those  named  set  forth  that  which  was  most 
distindlive  in  the  movement. 

As  might  have  been  expefted,  the  advocacy  of  these 
principles  and  pradlices,  so  much  at  variance  with  the  re- 
ligious opinions  of  the  age,  met  with  a  very  determined 
opposition  from  the  numerous  parties  into  which  Prot- 
estantism was  divided.  The  whole  phalanx  of  sedlari- 
anism  was  hurled  against  this  reformatory  movement 
with  an  energy  and  persistence  unequaled  in  all  the 
history  of  ecclesiastical  polemics.  All  the  Pilates  and 
Herods  made  friends,  and  united  their  forces  against  the 
common  enemy.  This  immense  opposition  had  to  be 
met  by  only  a  few  brave  hearts.  But  these,  strength- 
ened by  the  consciousness  that  they  were  in  the  right, 
and  guided  by  the  unerring  principles  of  Truth,  carried 
forward  the  reformation  with  rapid  and  triumphant  suc- 
cess. In  fadl,  no  religious  movement  since  the  days  of 
the  Apostles  has  met  with  such  popular  favor.  Fifty 
years  have  not  yet  elapsed,  and  the  little  band  of  Disci- 
ples who  inaugurated  the  initial  movement,  and  who  were 
despised  for  their  very  insignificance,  have  grown  to  be 


20 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT 


one  of  the  most  powerful  and  influential  religious  people 
of  modern  times — numbering  in  the  United  States  alone 
not  less  than  Jive  hundred  thousand  communicants.  Such 
astonishing  success — a  success  unparalleled  in  religious 
movements — calls  for  a  brief  notice  of  the  causes  which 
led  to  it.    These  may  be  stated  as  follows: 

I.  The  inherent  strength  of  the  plea  itself 
WHICH  THE  Disciples  made. 

II.  Their  method  of  presenting  it  to  the  world. 
We  have  already  considered  the  religious  condition  of 

the  world  when  this  plea  for  reformation  was  first  made. 
By  a  reference  to  that  period,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  refor- 
matory movement  was  absolutely  necessary  to  save  the 
cause  of  Christ  from  utter  disgrace  and  ruin.  It  is  said 
that  "coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before  them," 
and  this  was  fully  exemplified  in  the  general  confusion 
which  preceded  the  Reformation.  The  shadow  was  long 
and  dark,  but  the  light  was  all  the  brighter  when  it  came. 
The  world  was  ready  for  a  change,  and  this  fact  alone 
made  it  easier  to  make  the  plea  for  reformation  more  suc- 
cessful than  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  Nevertheless, 
we  think  there  was  very  great  strength  in  the  plea  itself 
which  the  Disciples  made.    Let  us  see  how  this  is: 

I .  The  simplicity  of  the  plea  was  a  source  of  great  strength. 

One  thing  was  kept  constantly  before  the  people  as  the 
grand  distinftive  charaderistic  of  the  movement,  viz.: 
the  Word  of  God  alone,  as  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  It  is 
evident  the  more  simple  the  machinery,  all  other  things 


INTRODUCTION. 


21 


being  equal,  the  more  efFeftive  it  will  be  for  work.  This 
rule  is  just  as  true  in  morals  as  in  physics.  Conse- 
quently, as  a  mere  element  of  success,  if  for  no  other 
reason,  the  "  Bible  alone"  dodlrine  commends  itself  to 
every  thinking  and  candid  mind.  One  of  the  chief  dif- 
ficulties with  which  Protestants  have  had  to  contend,  in 
their  conflidls  with  the  Catholic  Church,  has  been  the 
complexity  of  the  machinery  of  Protestantism.  While  the 
Catholic  Church  has  moved  steadily  on  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  single  inspiration,  maintaining  her  unity  in  all 
countries,  and  under  all  circumstances,  the  Protestant 
churches  have  divided  their  influence  in  a  warfare  among 
themselves,  as  well  as  greatly  weakened  each  individual 
eflbrt,  by  the  complex  conditions  of  Protestantism  itself  The 
Protestant  theory  is  to  oppose  an  infallible  Church  with 
an  infallible  Bible;  but  the  Protestant  practice  has  been 
to  weaken  this  plea,  by  claiming  the  necessity  of  human 
creeds;  and,  consequently,  the  Protestant  movement,  as  a 
whole,  has  been  greatly  retarded  in  its  progress  by  adding 
to  the  pure,  simple  Word  of  God  the  decrees  of  Augs- 
burg, Westminster,  and  such  like  ecclesiastical  utterances. 
The  plea  which  the  Disciples  made  was,  from  the  first, 
distinct  and  emphatic  for  the  Bible  alone.  And  wherever 
it  has  been  presented  by  honest  and  earnest  hearts,  the 
trophies  of  viftory  fully  attest  its  power  and  efficiency. 

1.  The  consistency  of  the  plea  was  another  source  of 
strength. 

We  do  not  mean,  by  the  word  consistency,  simply  the 


22 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


harmony  of  all  the  parts  of  the  plea  among  themselves. 
We  mean  this,  and  more  than  this.  We  mean  that  the 
position  of  those  who  advocated  the  present  Reformation 
was  in  harmony  with  truth,  and  that  it  ^z.s pra5lically  what 
it  professed  to  be.  The  Disciples  have  urged,  as  no  other 
people  have  done,  the  right  of  each  individual  member 
of  the  Church,  as  we.l  as  each  individual  member  of 
society,  to  examine  the  Word  of  God  for  himself.  This 
they  have  believed  to  be  not  only  right,'  but  positively 
essential,  in  order  to  a  successful  establishment  of  the 
Christian  religion  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Besides,  they 
are  thoroughly  convinced  that  every  condition  of  our 
being  and  society  requires  this,  and  that  the  Bible,  in  all 
its  teachings,  is  in  perfedl  harmony  with  this  position. 
In  nothing,  perhaps,  have  the  Protestant  clergy  shown 
themselves  to  be  more  inconsistent  than  in  their  at- 
tempts to  lord  it  over  the  consciences  of  men,  while 
they  pretend  to  find  fault  with  the  Papal  Hierarchy  for 
the  very  same  thing.  For,  while  the  Protestant  clergy 
have  theoretically  denied  the  Papal  assumption  of  right 
to  interpret  the  Word  of  God  for  the  masses,  they  have 
too  frequently  stultified  their  own  theory  by  praElically 
sitting  in  judgment  upon  the  faith  of  others.  Just 
here  has  been  a  vital  point  of  controversy  between  Prot- 
estantism and  Catholicism.  In  fadl,  it  is  the  beginning 
and  end  of  the  whole  difficulty,  the  sum  and  substance 
of  all  that  long  and  bitter  warfare  which  has  been  waged 
by  theological  pugilists  for  the  last  three  or  four  centu- 


INTRODUCTION. 


ries.  Had  Protestantism  been  consistent  with  itself,  and 
practically  exemplified  what  it  professed^  much,  very  much, 
might  have  been  done,  even  in  the  sixteenth  century,  to- 
ward staying  the  tide  of  religious  despotism  which  was 
then  sweeping  all  Europe.  Much,  indeed,  was  done ; 
but  nothing  in  comparison  with  what  should  have  been 
accomplished.  Truth  is  always  consistent  with  itself, 
and  it  was  natural  enough,  therefore,  for  men  to  suspedt 
the  purposes  and  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  position 
of  their  new  masters  when  these  were  found  to  be  little 
less  exading  upon  the  conscience  than  their  Papal  prede- 
cessors. This  palpable  inconsistency — this  determined 
opposition  to  Rome  on  account  of  her  assumptions  of 
right  to  interpret  the  Bible  for  the  Church,  and  at  the 
same  time  claiming  the  right  for  Protestants  to  do  the 
same  thing  by  forcing  upon  the  people  an  almost  indef- 
mite  number  of  theological  dogmas — is,  beyond  ques- 
tion, the  weak  point  of  Protestantism.  Try  to  avoid  it 
as  much  as  we  will,  the  conclusion  forces  itself  upon  us, 
that  here  is  a  plain  and  monstrous  inconsistency.  To 
remedy  this  evil,  and  enable  us  thereby  to  meet  success- 
fully the  encroachments  of  Rome  upon  civil  and  relig- 
ious liberty,  the  plea  of  the  present  reformation  has  been, 
and  is  now,  not  only  to  theoretically  allow,  but  earnestly 
and  pradically  to  enforce  upon  society  the  right  of  indi- 
vidual conscience  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  religion.  There 
is  no  middle  ground  between  Papacy  and  this  position. 
The  people  must  be  left  free  to  interpret  the  Word  of 


24 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


God  for  themselves,  or  else  the  clergy  must  do  it  for  them. 
A  domineering  priesthood,  or  a  free  people,  are  the  log- 
ical and  necessary  consequences  growing  out  of  these  con- 
ditions. The  people  have  not  been  slow  to  see  the  just- 
ness of  the  position  of  the  Disciples  upon  this  subject ; 
and,  consequently,  their  cause  has  gained  great  strength 
from  this  source,  wherever  it  has  been  faithfully  pre- 
sented. Here  is  the  secret  of  their  popularity  among  the 
masses;  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  when  we  take 
into  consideration  the  fad  that  they  are  the  only  people 
among  Protestants  who  praBically  strike  for  the  freedom 
of  conscience  and  the  right  of  individual  interpretation-. 

3.  'The  unity  of  the  plea  was  another  source  of  strength. 

Protestantism  has  always  given  evidence  of  certain  de- 
cided elements  of  power  within  it.  But  these  have  been 
manifested  only  in  particular  diredlions.  There  has  been 
no  regular,  harmonious  development,  and,  consequently, 
the  strength  of  Protestantism  has  been  unequal  to  the  task 
of  successfully  meeting  the  influence  of  Rome.  The 
work  of  Luther,  Zwingle,  Calvin,  and  Wesley  did 
much  toward  breaking  the  shackles  of  religious  despo- 
tism, and  restoring  the  ancient  order  of  things  to  the 
Church.  No  intelligent,  consistent  historian  can  fail  to 
note  this  fa6t.  But  it  is  likewise  true,  that  no  candid 
historian  can  fail  to  see  a  great  want  of  unity  in  the  plea 
which  they  made.  Some  of  the  elements  of  truth,  which 
they  e.iminated  from  the  mass  of  error  which  had  over- 
whelmed the  religious  consciousness  of  their  age,  came 


INTRODUCTION. 


25 


out  clearly,  distindtly,  and  unmistakably  on  the  side  of 
primitive  Christianity.  But  there  were  so  many  evi- 
dences of  mixture  with  the  corruptions  of  Rome,  in  other 
things  for  which  they  contended,  that  the  unity  of  their 
cause  was  greatly  disfigured  by  these  uneven  developments 
of  truth.  The  strength  and  efficiencv  of  their  plea  were 
also  impaired  in  the  exadl  ratio  that  this  want  of  unity 
was  manifested.  A  chain  may  be  very  strong  in  certain 
parts,  but,  on  account  of  some  weak  links,  the  efficiency 
of  the  whole  may  be  greatly  impaired,  and  even  rendered 
useless.  Precisely  so  is  it  with  Protestantism.  In  some 
of  its  parts  it  has  always  been  strong,  beyond  even  the 
power  of  the  Pope  of  Rome  to  destroy;  but,  taken  as  a 
whole,  it  is  unfortunately  weak,  because  of  a  lack  of  unity 
and  consistency  in  all  its  parts. 

The  position  of  the  religious  people  whose  history  we 
are  considering  is,  to  accept  all  the  strong  points  of  Prot- 
estantism, as  it  has  gradually  developed  since  the  days  of 
WicKLiFFE,  and  to  rejedl,  or  else  fully  restore  to  the  chain 
of  truth,  all  the  links,  unimpaired,  which  Protestantism 
has  made  weak  by  admixtures  with  error.''"  And,  if  it  be 
asked  how  far  this  has  been  accomplished,  let  the  present 
condition  of  Protestantism  be  compared  with  what  it  was 
fifty  years  ago.  We  think  that  no  intelligent  student  of 
passing  events  can  fail  to  see  that  the  reformatory  move- 
ment conducted  by  Alexander  Campbell  and  his  asso- 


*  nde  Address  before  the  A.  C.  Missionary  Society  by  W.  T.  Moore. 


26 


THE  LIVING  PU1.PIT. 


ciates  has  exerted  an  immense  amount  of  influence  upon 
the  religious  condition  of  the  present  age.  Every-where 
we  see  evidences  of  a  departure  from  the  old  stereotyped 
formularies  of  faith,  while  a  more  earnest  inquiry  after 
the  principles  advocated  by  the  Disciples  is  unmistakably 
manifest.  The  tendencies  of  the  religious  movements  of 
the  present  day  are  all  in  the  direcftion  of  the  position  the 
Disciples  occupy,  and  we  verily  believe  that  the  day  is  not 
far  distant  when  this  position  will  be  accepted  as  the  only 
ground  upon  which  all  the  people  of  God  can  be  united. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  method  employed  in 
presenting  this  plea  to  the  world  as  another  reason  of  its 
success.  Method  is  always  secondary  only  to  matter,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  overestimate  its  value  in  any  great  work. 
Success  often  depends  on  the  method  employed.  There 
is  strategy  in  work  as  well  as  in  war,  and  he  who  ignores 
this  fa6t,  in  the  management  of  any  great  enterprise,  will 
soon  find  that  he  has  made  a  sad  mistake.  Logic  is  un- 
yielding in  its  demands  for  legitimate  consequences,  hence 
a  proper  method  ought  to  enter  into  all  our  plans  of  life. 

The  method  employed  by  the  Disciples  in  advocating 
their  plea  for  reformation  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
plea  itself.  As  truth  was  the  only  objed  desired,  that 
method  which  would  best  eliminate  truth  was  employed. 
Hence  the  popular  methods  of  investigation,  which  went 
to  the  Bible  only  for  proofs  to  establish  some  favorite 
theory  or  preconceived  opinion,  were  discarded  as  alto- 
gether unworthy  honest  inquiry,  while  the  Bible  was  stud- 


INTRODUCTION. 


27 


ied  with  the  view  only  to  understand  the  Divine  will. 
Every  example  and  precept,  relating  to  any  subjedl  re- 
quiring investigation,  was  carefully  and  prayerfully  exam- 
ined, and  when  a  satisfa6tory  indudion  was  made,  the  re- 
sult was  reverently  accepted  as  the  truth  in  the  matter. 

They  did  not  go  to  the  Bible  to  find  out  if  the  Bible 
said  what  they  said,  but  they  went  to  the  Bible  to  ascer- 
tain if  they  said  what  the  Bible  said.  And  this  was  not  de- 
termined by  a  few  isolated  passages,  torn  away  from  their 
proper  context  and  forced  into  an  unwilling  service,  but 
by  a  careful  induftion  of  all  the  -passages,  in  their  true 
contextual  meaning,  on  the  subjedl  to  be  decided.  Such 
was  the  method  employed  in  writing  and  preaching,  and 
it  never  failed  to  command  the  public  attention.  There 
was  something  so  simple,  honest,  and  reasonable  about 
it,  that  the  "wayfaring  man,  though  a  simpleton,  need 
not  err  therein."  For  many  years  the  preachers  were, 
for  the  most  part,  plain,  uneducated  men;  but  they  un- 
derstood the  Word  of  God,  and  knew  how  to  make  others 
understand  it.  This  constituted  them  a  tower  of  strength, 
and,  wherever  they  went,  under  the  influence  of  their 
preaching,  hundreds  and  thousands  became  obedient  to 
the  Gospel.  And  thus  the  work  went  gloriously  on, 
until  it  has  reached  its  present  magnificent  proportions. 
The  movement  has  now  passed  its  formative  state,  and  is 
rapidly  developing  the  conditions  of  permanent  success. 
Under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Disciples,  schools  and  col- 
leges are  going  up  all  over  the  land,  while  the  churches  are 


28 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


supplying  themselves  with  educated  pastors  to  break  to 
the  people  the  bread  of  life.  Every  thing  indicates  an 
advance  toward  a  thorough  and  complete  organization. 
When  this  point  is  once  fully  reached,  we  trust  that  the 
days  of  sedlarianism  will  be  numbered. 

We  have  now  noticed  two  periods  in  the  history  of  the 
Disciples,  viz.:  the  Period  of  Formation  and  the  Period  of 
Organization  and  Development.  One  of  these  is  past;  they 
are  at  present  in  the  midst  of  the  other,  having  already 
taken  some  very  decided  progressive  steps.  Hence  any 
seleftion  of  men  designed  to  represent  the  preaching  char- 
afteristics  of  this  people  should  be  made  from  both  "of 
these  periods!  That  is  precisely  what  is  aimed  at  in  this 
book.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  several  names  that 
represent  the  first  period — the  cause  when  it  was  in  its 
formative  state — while  several  young  men  represent  it  as 
it  now  is — in  its  state  of  organization  and  development. 
In  judging  of  the  discourses  which  are  to  follow,  this  dis- 
tinftion  between  the  two  classes  of  writers  must  be  con- 
stantly kept  in  view.  Several  of  the  men  who  have  writ- 
ten discourses  for  this  volume  never  wrote  a  discourse 
before  in  their  lives.  They  belong  to  that  period  of  the 
Reformation  that  did  not  allow  the  preparation  necessary 
to  the  production  of  written  discourses.  They  had  no 
time  to  devote  to  the  study  of  rhetoric  or  elocution. 
They  had  work  to  do — work  which  required  all  their 
time  and  energies.  Hence  they  stood  not  on  the  order 
of  speaking,  but  s;poke.    Wherever  they  had  opportunity, 


INTRODUCTION. 


29 


they  sounded  out  the  Gospel  to  a  lost  and  ruined  world. 
In  faft,  these  were  just  the  men  that  were  needed  then. 
Polished  rhetoricians  would  have  failed.    The  age  and 
work  demanded  angular  men—mtn  of  strong,  vigorous 
intellefts,  indomitable  wills,  and  brave,  earnest  hearts. 
From  such  men  we  do  not  exped  the  graces  of  compo- 
sition, but,  what  is  better,  the  grace  of  honest  truth  and 
good  sense.    We  do  not  make  these  remarks  for  the 
purpose  of  apologizing  for  any  of  the  discourses  that 
appear  in  this  volume— for  we  do  not  think  any  of  them 
needs  an  apology — but  simply  in  justice  to  the  men  them- 
selves, because  many  of  them  have  not  been  accustomed 
to  write  any  thing,  and  much  less  discourses  for  the  pul- 
pit.   In  faft,  writing  discourses  for  the  pulpit  is  not  the 
habit  of  the  preachers  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  hence 
it  may  be  said  of  all  the  men  who  appear  in  the  book, 
that  they  have  gone  somewhat  outside  of  their  regular 
work.     They  are  all  extemporaneous  speakers,  and  rely 
almost  exclusively  on  this  method  in  their  pulpit  minis- 
trations.   Consequently  their  discourses  will  be  found 
to  differ,  in  both  matter  and  manner,  from  the  standard 
authors  of  sermons.     But  we  do  not  think  they  suffer 
any  on  this  account.    One  of  the  reasons  why  the  Prot- 
estant churches  are  to-day  so  far  away  from  the  primitive 
models  is,  that  their  ministers  persist  in  a  style  of  preach- 
ing which  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  lead  to  er- 
roneous views  in  reference  to  the  teaching  of  the  Scrip- 
tures.   They  are  too  much  in  the  habit  of  following  the 


30 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


little  by-paths  in  the  domain  of  Truth,  rather  than  the 
great  thoroughfares  that  lead  on  to  the  Beautiful  City.  If 
they  should  find  themselves  lost  sometimes,  while  wan- 
dering in  these  obscure  windings,  it  need  not  be  a  matter 
of  surprise  to  any  one.  Forbidden  ground  is  just  as  dan- 
gerous 2iS  forbidden  fruit. 

The  discourses  which  appear  in  this  volume,  wil!  com- 
mend themselves  in  the  following  particulars  : 

I.  They  are  pregnant  with  evangelical  truth.  There 
is  no  mistaking  the  source  whence  the  material  is  drawn. 
Every  sentence  is  luminous  with  light  from  the  Word 
of  God. 

II.  They  are  remarkable  for  simplicity  of  style.  There 
is  no  effort  at  fine  writing — no  overstrained  metaphors. 
Many  of  the  discourses  are  exceedingly  fine  specimens 
of  pure  Anglo-Saxon,  containing  comparatively  very  few 
derived  words. 

III.  They  are  equally  remarkable  for  perspicuity.  The 
meaning  is  never  in  doubt.  You  may  not  agree  with  the 
writers,  but  you  can  not  fail  to  understand  them. 

IV.  The  ability  displayed  in  these  discourses  is  cer- 
tainly very  considerable.  While  they  are  not  to  be  com- 
pared in  may  respects  with  the  standard  sermons  in  the 
various  languages — for,  as  already  remarked,  they  are  not 
written  after  the  same  models — still  we  think  that  in  point 
of  intelledlual  force,  many  of  them  will  compare  favorably 
with  the  best  discourses  in  any  language. 


INTRODUCTION. 


31 


V.  They  bear  unmistakable  evidence  that  their  authors 
are  conscientious,  earnest  men.  Whatever  difference  of 
opinion  there  may  be  concerning  the  dodlrine  promuiged 
in  these  discourses,  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  sin- 
cerity of  the  men  who  wrote  them.  Every  conclusion  is 
clearly  the  result  of  honest  convictions. 

But,  after  all,  the  historical  value  of  these  discourses  is 
as  great  as  any  other.  The  Disciples  are  just  now  pass- 
ing through  a  transition  state,  and  it  will  be  interesting, 
in  after  years,  to  look  over  the  great  speeches  of  some 
of  the  representative  men  of  this  period.  This  volume 
will  afford  such  an  opportunity,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  highly  prized,  not  only  because  of  its  present  value, 
but  because  it  will  be  a  rich  legacy  for  all  time. 

W.  T.  M. 


Cincinnati,  October,  1867. 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT  OF  THE 
CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 


DAVID  STAATS  BURNET. 

[While  preparing  for  this  volume  a  short  notice  of  the  life  of  this  dis- 
tinguished brother,  we  received  the  sad  intelligence  of  his  death.  His 
discourse  was  already  partially  in  type,  and  the  engraving  nearly  ready. 
Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  thought  best  to  retain  him  in  the  book, 
although  the  original  intention  was  to  have  no  one  appear  in  it  but  living 
preachers. 

The  lesson  which  this  sad  event  teaches  is  one  of  solemn  warning. 
While  preparing  a  book,  in  which  none  but  the  living  were  to  occupy 
a  place,  one  of  those  selected  is  suddenly  numbered  among  the  dead. 
Truly,  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death. 

In  consultation  with  the  publishers,  it  was  decided  to  give  a  more  gen- 
eral notice  of  the  deceased  than  was  at  first  intended.  It  was  believed 
this  would  be  just  and  proper,  and  highly  appreciated.  In  accordance 
with  this  decision,  we  have  collected  what  material  we  could,  in  the  short 
time  a'llowed,  from  which  to  write  a  biographical  sketch,  and  present  the 
following  as  the  result  of  our  labors.] 

DAVID  STAATS  BURNET  was  the  eldest  child 
of  Isaac  G.  and  Mrs.  K.  W.  Burnet,  and  was 
born  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  July  6,  1808.  His  ancestors,  on 
both  sides,  were  Scotch,  and  of  very  respeftable  charader. 
His  maternal  grandfather  was  Capt.  George  Gordon,  a 
native  of  Philadelphia.  His  paternal  grandfather  was 
Dr.  William  Burnet,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  a  member  of 
3  (33) 


34 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  Congress  of  1775.  He  claimed  lineal  descent  from 
Gilbert  Burnet,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  so  conspicuous 
during  the  great  English  Revolution,  under  William, 
Prince  of  Orange. 

When  he  was  eight  years  of  age  his  parents  removed 
to  Cincinnati,  his  father  having  formed  a  law  partnership 
with  the  late  Nicholas  Longworth.  Subsequently  the 
father  served  twelve  vears  as  mavor,  employing  the  son 
as  clerk,  when  at  the  age  of  thirteen.  While  in  this  em- 
ployment, under  the  watchful  care  of  his  father,  young 
David  acquired  those  habits  of  industry  and  faithfulness 
which  charadlerized  him  through  life,  and  which  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  future  career. 

He  was  educated  in  the  Presbyterian  faith,  and  was 
sprinkled,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  that  sedl, 
about  the  time  he  entered  his  father's  office  as  clerk.  But 
his  mind  had  already  begun  to  investigate;  and  owing  to 
the  interest  which  he  subsequently  took  in  the  cause  of 
Sunday  schools — having  at  the  age  of  sixteen  become  as- 
sociated with  a  Presbyterian  official  in  conducting  a  very 
successful  one — he  was  led  to  a  close  examination  of  the 
Word  of  God.  This  examination  convinced  him  that 
some  of  his  religious  positions  were  wrong,  and  could  not 
be  reconciled  with  the  Divine  teaching.  After  prayerful 
consideration,  he  determined  to  change  his  religious  con- 
nections, as  his  views  had  undergone  a  radical  change, 
especially  on  the  subjed  of  human  creeds  and  the  ordi- 
nance of  baptism.  Accordingly,  on  the  26th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1824,  he  was  immersed  by  the  Rev.  Johx  Bo"i  d,  and 
received  into  the  Enon  Baptist  Church. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that,  at  this  time,  he  was  unac- 
quainted with  the  teaching  of  Alexander  Campbell  and 
those  associated  with  him  in  pleading  for  a  return  to 
primitive  Christianity;  and  yet,  he  rejefted  the  authority 


DAVID  STAATS  BURNET. 


35 


of  human  creeds,  and  declined  to  accept  any  test  of  faith 
but  the  Word  of  God,  basing  his  application  for  baptism 
on  Rom.  x:  6—10,  not  knowing  that  any  one  else  had 
done  so  before.  On  this  account,  it  was  with  some  hesi- 
tation that  he  was  received  by  the  Baptists,  his  views  be- 
ing, in  many  respects,  at  variance  with  their  established 
usage. 

Immediately  after  his  baptism  he  commenced  preach- 
ing in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  notwithstanding,  at  that 
early  age,  he  was  offered  admission  to  the  West  Point 
Military  Academy  by  his  uncle,  the  late  Judge  Jacob 
Burnet. 

His  life  at  this  time  becomes  an  interesting  study,  and 
the  moral  sublimity  of  his  charader  challenges  our  unaf- 
fefted  admiration.  Surrounded  by  a  large  circle  of  influ- 
ential relatives  and  friends,  who,  if  religious  at  all,  had 
little  or  no  sympathy  with  his  views  of  Christianity;  with 
wealth  and  worldly  honors  offered  him  without  stint,  he 
turned  his  back  upon  them  all,  and,  like  the  great  Law- 
giver of  Israel,  chose  rather  to  suffer  affliftion  with  the 
people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a 
season ;  esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches 
than  all  the  treasures  and  honors  of  the  world.  It  is 
only  now  and  then  that  a  young  man,  under  such  circum- 
stances, deliberately  seledls  the  profession  of  an  humble 
preacher  of  the  Gospel.  And  when  one  does  have  the 
moral  courage,  by  the  help  of  God,  to  do  it,  his  name 
should  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance  among  those 
who  "contend  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints." 

Although  little  more  than  sixteen  when  he  began  to 
preach,  such  were  his  piety  and  earnestness,  and  such  his 
devotion  to  study,  that  he  made  very  rapid  growth  in  his 
profession;  so  rapid,  indeed,  that  at  the  age  of  twenty  he 
was  called  to  the  pastoral  care  of  a  church  in  Dayton,  O., 


36 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


and  was  held  in  great  esteem  as  an  earnest,  faithful,  and 
eloquent  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

In  the  autumn  or  winter  of  1827,  the  youthful  preacher 
united  with  Elder  William  Montague,  of  Kentucky,  in 
the  organization  of  the  Sycamore-street  Baptist  Church 
of  Cincinnati.  This  church  numbered  about  eighty  mem- 
bers at  the  time  of  its  organization,  and  adopted  a  plat- 
form of  principles  much  more  liberal  and  progressive 
than  those  usually  adopted  by  the  Baptist  churches  at 
that  time.  But  the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  as  ad- 
vocated by  Alexander  Campbell,  Walter  Scott,  and 
others,  now  became  very  generally  known,  and  their  influ- 
ence upon  the  Baptist  churches  throughout  the  West  was 
very  great,  in  some  places  completely  absorbing  whole  dis- 
tri(5ts,  and  enlisting  a  very  earnest  interest  in  favor  of  the 
plea  for  a  return  to  Primitive  Christianity.  The  Syca- 
more-street Church  was  not  free  from  this  influence,  and 
it  was  not  long  until  a  division  took  place,  the  two  por- 
tions forming  different  congregations,  and  finally  grow- 
ing into  the  present  Ninth-street  Baptist  Church,  and  the 
Christian  Church,  corner  of  Eighth  and  Walnut  streets. 
Brother  Burnet  adhered  to  the  latter-named  organiza- 
tion, and  from  that  time  until  the  day  of  his  death  was 
thoroughly  identified  with  the  movement,  and  a  zealous 
defender  of  the  principles  and  pradtices,  as  advocated  by 
the  Disciples  of  Christ. 

And  here  again  we  find  him  yielding  to  his  honest  con- 
vidtions  in  opposition  to  every  worldly  interest.  It  is 
difficult  to  conceive  of  a  more  self-sacrificing  ad  than  that 
which  breaks  away  from  wealth,  position,  fame,  friends, 
relatives,  and  last,  though  not  least,  religious  associa- 
tions, and  unites  present  hopes  and  an  eternal  destiny 
with  a  movement  which  promises  nothing  in  this  life  but 
ignominy  and  shame,  and,  in  the  popular  estimation. 


DAVID  STAATS  BURNET. 


37 


nothing  in  the  life  to  come  but  everlasting  ruin.  Only 
honest  and  earnest  convidions  could  induce  any  sane  man 
to  enter  upon  such  an  unpromising  adventure.  And  yet 
this  is  just  what  the  subjedl  of  this  sketch  did.  The 
people  with  whom  he  associated  himself  religiously  were, 
a'  that  time,  held  in  very  low  esteem  by  the  different  re- 
igious  parties  into  which  the  Protestant  world  was  di- 
vided. Nor  could  it  be  expeded  otherwise.  The  plea 
which  they  made  struck  at  the  very  foundation  of  all  the 
existing  religious  se6ls;  hence  it  is  reasonable  enough  to 
suppose  the  sects  would  bitterly  denounce  a  movement 
which  had  for  its  objedl  their  complete  destrudlion.  This 
very  attitude  of  the  Reformation  arrayed  all  the  hosts  of 
sedtarianism  against  it.  The  contest  was  a  fearful  one, 
and  the  odds  against  the  little  Spartan  band  who  plead 
for  a  return  to  apostolic  Christianity  were  truly  appall- 
ing. But  truth  is  mighty  and  will  prevail;  and  our 
brother  lived  long  enough  to  see  his  brethren,  who  were 
so  heartily  despised  at  first,  rise  to  be  one  of  the  most 
powerful  and  influential  religious  people  in  all  the  land. 
And  to  reach  this  success,  no  one  labored  more  steadily 
and  earnestly  than  he  himself,  sacrificing  ease  and  com- 
fort, traveling  at  times  from  one  end  of  the  country  to 
the  other,  working  by  day  and  by  night,  preaching  the 
Gospel,  organizing  churches,  writing  for  the  papers,  edit- 
ing books,  teaching  school,  in  fad;,  doing  any  thing  that 
was  necessary  toward  pushing  on  the  cause  which  lay  so 
near  his  heart. 

On  the  thirtieth  day  of  March,  1830,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  G.  Gano,  youngest  daughter  of  Major- 
general  John  S.  Gang.  She  had  been  immersed  in  1827 
by  Rev.  Jeremiah  Vardeman  ;  and  it  is  due  to  her  to 
say  here  that  she  always  faithfully  co-operated  with  her 
husband  in  all  his  efforts  to  spread  the  Gospel  of  the  grace 


38 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


ot  God.  In  1833,  he  entered  a6tively  upon  the  work  of  an 
evangelist.  He  made  an  extensive  and  successful  preach- 
ing tour  through  the  Eastern  States,  passing  through  Vir- 
ginia, then  further  north  to  the  seaboard  cities.  The 
result  of  his  labors  in  the  cities  visited  was  highly  satis- 
fadory.  Great  good  was  accomplished  in  stirring  up  the 
Disciples  to  a  more  aftive  zeal,  while  a  very  general  inter- 
est was  created  in  favor  of  the  Primitive  Gospel.  Many 
of  the  churches  that  now  exist  in  those  localities  are  the 
results  of  good  seed  sown  during  this  tour. 

On  returning  home  he  commenced  his  career  as  editor 
and  publisher.  From  1834  to  1840,  he  published  the 
"Christian  Preacher,"  a  monthly  magazine,  containing 
choice  discourses  and  essays  on  the  great  themes  conne6led 
with  man's  redemption.  This  exerted  a  good  influence, 
and  had  considerable  circulation.  In  1846,  he  published 
"The  Christian  Family  Magazine;"  then  the  "Christian 
Age,"  for  several  years.  At  another  time  he  published 
simultaneously  "The  Reformer,"  "The  Monthly  Age," 
and  "The  Sunday-school  Journal."  He  also  edited  the 
"Sunday-school  Library,"  of  fifty-six  volumes,  and  an 
edition  of  the  "Christian  Baptist,"  in  one  volume.  In 
all  these  publications  he  showed  considerable  ability, 
though  his  powers  as  a  writer  were  not  equal  to  his  speak- 
ing talent.  His  home  was  in  the  pulpit,  and  he  was  never 
so  able  in  any  other  department  of  labor. 

As  an  educator  he  had  considerable  experience;  and  al- 
though he  may  not  have  excelled  in  this  profession,  his 
career  was  highly  creditable  to  him.  For  two  years  he  was 
President  of  Bacon  College,  Georgetown,  Ky.,  and  after- 
ward Principal  and  Proprietor  of  Hygeia  Female  Athe- 
neum,  situated  on  the  heights,  seven  miles  back  of  Cin- 
cinnati. In  both  of  these  places  he  gave  evidence  of  good 
executive  talent  and  respedlable  ability  as  a  teacher;  but  it 


DAVID  STAATS  BURNET. 


39 


was  not  the  work  he  most  desired  ;  consequently,  in  1844, 
he  resumed  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  church  on  Syca- 
more street,  Cincinnati,  and  subsequently  at  the  corner  of 
Eighth  and  Walnut  streets,  serving  in  all  sixteen  years. 

His  ministry  in  Cincinnati  was  attended  with  a  steady  and 
permanent  success.  He  never  produced  any  very  marked 
impression  on  the  city,  but  kept  the  church  in  a  growing 
condition,  receiving  always  the  confidence  of  his  brethren, 
and  the  respe6b  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  While 
occupying  this  position,  he  devoted  himself  closely  to 
study,  taking  a  very  general  course  of  reading,  especially 
in  some  of  the  departments  of  ancient  and  modern  his- 
tory. Here  also  he  became  acquainted  with  pastoral 
work,  a  department  of  labor  not  very  well  understood  at 
that  time  by  preachers  of  the  Christian  Church.  Owing 
to  the  small  number  of  preachers,  it  was  impossible  to 
supply  many  of  the  churches  with  regular  pastors.  The 
preachers  had  to  do  chiefly  evangelical  work,  and,  conse- 
quently, had  little  or  no  experience  in  developing  the 
resources  of  a  single  church.  Brother  Burnet  saw  that 
pastoral  labor  must  be  done  in  the  churches,  and  espe- 
cially the  city  churches,  before  they  could  ever  reach 
that  spiritual  growth  which  would  enable  them  to  exert  a 
proper  influence  on  the  world.  Holding  these  views,  he 
labored  not  only  for  an  increase  of  the  ministry,  but  for 
such  a  ministry  as  would  be  able  to  build  up  the  churches 
as  well  as  convert  the  world.  He  did  not  measure  power 
by  many,  but  by  much.  Numbers  in  a  church  are  well 
enough,  but  strength  is  not  always  in  numbers.  Disci- 
pline, long  and  patient  discipline,  is  necessary  to  develop 
real  power,  and  this  can  not  be  had  without  a  thorough 
organization,  and  some  one  to  take  the  oversight,  who 
feels  the  responsibility  of  watching  for  the  souls  of  the 
people.    He  did  not  argue  that  the  pastoral  office  is  a 


40 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


distind  office  from  the  eldership,  but  that  it  is  a  part  of 
the  work  of  the  eldership.  But  as  the  elders  seleded  by 
the  churches  are  generally  not  competent,  or  else  will 
not  perform  this  work,  such  men  should  be  provided 
as  conscientiously  feel  it  to  be  their  duty  to  "  feed  the 
flock  of  God."  This  course  would  alone  give  such  pros- 
perity to  the  churches  as  would  make  them  the  "  pillar 
and  support  of  the  truth." 

In  1857  he  was  called  to  the  pastoral  care  of  the  church 
on  Seventeenth  street,  in  the  city  of  New  York.  At  the 
conckision  of  one  year's  labor  he  resigned,  and  spent  the 
following  year  along  the  seaboard  from  New  York  to 
Texas.  The  next  year  was  spent  in  Missouri  and  Kan- 
sas, where  his  labors  were  greatly  blessed,  several  hundred 
additions  being  made  to  the  churches.  It  was  during 
this  tour  that  he  conduced  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
meetings  of  his  life,  at  Paris,  Missouri.  For  several 
weeks  the  interest  was  so  great  that  all  the  merchants 
in  the  place,  by  common  consent,  closed  their  business 
houses  every  day  at  ten  o'clock,  to  enable  them  to  at- 
tend church.  It  is  said  by  those  who  heard  him,  that 
his  power  in  the  pulpit  during  this  meeting  was  truly 
marvelous. 

When  he  returned  from  this  tour,  he  again  took  charge 
of  the  church  corner  of  Eighth  and  Walnut  streets,  Cin- 
cinnati, but  in  the  fall  of  i860,  at  the  earnest  solicitation 
of  many  brethren,  he  was  induced  to  resign  and  take  the 
corresponding  secretaryship  of  the  American  Christian 
Missionary  Society.  This  placed  him  again  adively  in 
the  general  field,  and  gave  him  additional  opportunities 
for  extending  his  travels  and  his  already  large  acquaint- 
ance among  the  brethren.  But  our  civil  war  beginning 
in  1861,  and  the  resources  of  the  Society  being  largely 
cut  off,  he  gave  up  the  secretaryship,  removed  to  Balti- 


DAVID  STAATS  BURNET. 


41 


more,  Maryland,  and  became  pastor  of  the  church  in  that 
city.  There  he  remained  until  his  death,  which  took 
place  on  the  8th  of  July,  1 867,  being  just  fifty-nine  years 
and  two  days  old. 

His  last  hours  were  in  accordance  with  his  whole  life, 
full  of  faith  and  hope.  His  sickness,  in  its  aggravated 
form,  was  of  short  duration.  He  had  not  been  well  for 
some  time,  but  no  one  considered  him  seriously  ill.  He 
had  just  resigned  his  pastoral  charge  at  Baltimore,  and 
was  about  to  remove  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he 
had  been  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Walnut  and  Fourth  streets.  He  preached  his 
farewell  sermon  to  the  church  which  he  had  so  faithfully 
served,  on  Lord's  day,  June  the  30th,  and  the  labors  of 
that  day  apparently  developed  the  germs  of  the  disease 
of  which  he  died.  On  the  day  following,  he  sought  in 
quietness  to  relieve  himself  of  his  distress,  but  without 
success.  On  Tuesday  morning,  although  quite  feeble, 
and  severely  suffering,  he  insisted  on  meeting  an  engage- 
ment to  administer  the  ordinance  of  baptism  to  two  per- 
sons who  had  made  the  confession  the  previous  Lord's 
day.  In  the  performance  of  this  act  he  had  to  be  sup- 
ported to  and  from  the  church.  On  Wednesday  he  was 
too  ill  to  rise,  and  was  at  once  placed  under  rigorous 
medical  treatment ;  but  the  most  skillful  and  unremit- 
ting attention  was  unavailing.  The  work  of  death  from 
this  time  proceeded,  and  on  Monday  morning,  at  eleven 
and  a  half  o'clock,  was  accomplished 

It  is  a  pleasant  refledion  to  his  friends  to  know  that 
during  his  entire  illness  his  intelledl  was  unclouded  and 
his  faith  undimmed.  The  evening  before  he  died,  he 
Tsaid  to  those  at  his  bedside :  "  Brethren,  my  faith  is 
strong  in  God;  I  die  in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  and 
have  no  fears."    Next  morning,  just  before  death,  he 


42 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


said:  "My  path  is  clear  before  me,  and  I  have  nothing 
against  any  one."  Many  of  his  last  moments  were  spent 
in  repeating  the  Psalms,  especially  the  twenty-third,  al- 
ternately in  Hebrew  and  English. 

On  the  Wednesday  following  his  death,  a  large  con- 
course of  the  brethren  and  friends  assembled  at  the  Chris- 
tian Church  in  Baltimore,  to  pay  their  last  respefts  to  the 
honored  dead.  An  appropriate  discourse  was  preached 
by  Brother  A.  N.  Gilbert,  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  His  re- 
mains, in  charge  of  his  brother  Jacob  Burnet,  Esq.,  and 
two  brethren  appointed  by  the  Baltimore  church,  were 
then  taken  to  Cincinnati,  where,  on  Friday  afternoon,  his 
funeral  took  place,  from  the  church  corner  of  Eighth  and 
Walnut  streets.  An  eloquent  funeral  discourse  was  de- 
livered by  Isaac  Errett,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  valued 
friend  of  the  deceased,  and,  for  many  years,  a  co-laborer 
in  the  Gospel,  after  which  the  remains  were  followed  by 
a  large  number  of  relatives  and  personal  friends  to  Spring 
Grove  Cemetery,  where  they  were  interred  in  the  family 
burying-ground. 

Thus  ended  the  earthly  career  of  a  noble  hero  of  the 
Cross.  His  life  had  been  glorious,  and  his  death  was  tri- 
umphant. He  rests  from  his  labors,  and  his  works  do 
follow  him.  In  deep  sorrow,  though  not  as  those  who 
have  no  hope,  we  adopt  the  sentiment  of  the  poet : 

"  Fallen — on  Zion's  battle-field, 

A  soldier  of  renown. 
Armed  in  the  panoply  of  God, 

In  conflict  cloven  down  ! 
His  helmet  on,  his  armor  bright. 

His  cheek  unblanched  with  fear — 
While  round  his  head  there  gleamed  a  light. 

His  dying  hour  to  cheer. 


DAVID  STAATS  BURNET. 


+3 


"Fallen — while  cheering  with  his  voice 

The  sacramental  host. 
With  banners  floating  in  the  air — 

Death  found  him  at  his  post. 
In  life's  high  prime  the  warfare  closed. 

But  not  ingloriously ; 
He  fell  beyond  the  outer  wall. 

And  shouted.  Victory  ! 

"Fallen — a  holy  man  of  God, 

An  Israelite  indeed, 
A  standard-bearer  of  the  cross. 

Mighty  in  word  and  deed — 
A  master-spirit  of  the  age, 

A  bright  and  burning  light, 
Whose  beams  across  the  firmament 

Scattered  the  clouds  of  night. 

"Fallen — as  sets  the  sun  at  eve. 

To  rise  in  splendor,  where 
His  kindred  luminaries  shine. 

Their  heaven  of  bliss  to  share. 
Beyond  the  stormy  battle-field 

He  reigns  in  triumph  now, 
Sweeping  a  harp  of  wondrous  song. 

With  glory  on  his  brow  !" 

Brother  Burnet  was  in  stature  somewhat  below  the  me- 
dium height;  but  his  presence  was  so  commanding  as  to 
impress  upon  the  observer  that  he  was  no  ordinary  man. 
He  had  a  healthy  physical  organization,  susceptible  of 
great  endurance,  and  a  large  well-balanced  brain;  and  this 
accounts  for  the  immense  amount  of  physical  and  intel- 
ledtual  labor  he  was  able  to  accomplish,  his  whole  life  be- 
ing charafterized  by  great  aftivity  and  energy. 

His  manners  were  somewhat  formal  and  stiff,  arising, 
doubtless,  from  a  too  sensitive  nature,  which  instindively 
shrank  from  familiar  contad  with  any  but  the  most  inti- 


44 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


mate  friends.  He  was  always,  however,  deferential  and 
courteous  to  even  the  humblest  individual,  but  his  natu- 
ral reserve  sometimes  subjeded  him  to  the  charge  of  ex- 
clusiveness.  Nevertheless,  he  was  one  of  the  most  social 
and  agreeable  of  men,  but  his  sociability  was  not  of  that 
free,  outspoken  kind  which  disarms  criticism  and  makes 
every  one  feel  perfedlly  at  home.  It  was  none  the  less 
genuine,  however,  on  this  account. 

As  a  scholar,  he  had  respeftable  attainments,  having 
made  considerable  progress  in  the  study  of  the  languages, 
especially  Hebrew  and  Greek.  He  was  also  very  fond 
of  the  sciences,  and  was  quite  familiar  with  natural  his- 
tory. 

As  a  speaker,  he  was  more  of  an  elocutionist  than  a 
rhetorician.  His  declamation  was  easy  and  graceful,  his 
voice  rich  and  melodious,  and  his  power  to  control  an 
audience,  when  fully  aroused,  unsurpassed  by  any  preacher 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Disciples.  But,  like  all  great  orators, 
he  was  not  always  equal  to  himself.  It  required  a  suita- 
ble occasion  to  bring  him  out  in  his  full  strength.  It  is 
said  by  those  familiar  with  his  preaching,  that  he  never 
was  so  powerful  as  when  conducing  a  successful  pro- 
traded  meeting.  At  such  a  time  he  seemed  to  be  in- 
spired, and  spoke  as  if  his  lips  had  been  touched  with  a 
Divine  eloquence.  His  ability  as  a  writer,  however,  was 
not  so  great.  His  style  was  too  diiFuse,  and  was  not  al- 
ways free  from  rhetorical  blemishes,  especially  in  the  use 
of  metaphors. 

He  had  fine  executive  talent,  and  always  made  his  suc- 
cesses permanent.  He  never  lost  any  ground.  If  he  did 
not  always  go  forward,  he  never  went  backward.  He  did 
not  stop  in  the  formative  state  of  a  work,  but  carried  it 
forward  to  organization.  In  fad,  he  was  distinguished  as 
an  organizer;  and  the  present  system  of  societies  among 


DAVID  STAATS  BURNET. 


45 


the  Disciples  owes  its  origin  to  his  efforts  more  than  to 
those  of  any  other  man.  In  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  this 
work,  dated  Baltimore,  February  28,  1867,  he  says:  "I 
consider  the  inauguration  of  our  Society  system,  which  I 
vowed  to  urge  upon  the  brethren,  if  God  raised  me  from 
my  protrafted  illness  of  1845,  as  one  of  the  most  impor-. 
tant  afts  of  my  career."  He  was  President  of  the  Bible 
and  Missionary  Societies  while  they  co-existed,  and  was, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  President  of  the  General  Mis- 
sionary Society,  having  been  elefted  to  fill  the  vacancy 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  the  venerable  and  lamented 
Alexander  Campbell. 

He  was  also  a  growing  man.  He  never  ceased  to 
devote  himself  to  constant  and  laborious  study.  He 
felt  it  to  be  his  religious  duty  to  make  every  sermon  he 
preached  better  than  any  he  had  ever  before  preached. 
Hence  he  did  not  belong  to  that  class  of  preachers,  who, 
after  preaching  a  few  stereotyped  discourses,  have  nothing 
more  to  say.  His  mind  was  fertile  in  resources,  and  his 
industry  equal  to  the  severest  demands  of  his  profession. 
As  he  grew  in  years,  he  grew  also  in  power,  so  that  his 
last  years  were  the  years  of  his  greatest  usefulness.  His 
success  in  B;iltimore,  though  made  at  an  advanced  age,  was 
by  far  the  most  decided  of  his  whole  life.  The  church 
there  was  in  a  very  low  condition  when  he  took  charge  of 
it,  and  owing  to  the  civil  war  which  was  then  raging,  he 
found  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  any  permanent  prog- 
ress. Nevertheless,  he  continued  to  work  on,  trusting  in 
God  that  good  results  would  come  by  and  by.  '  These  re- 
sults did  come;  for,  during  the  last  year  of  his  ministry, 
the  most  gratifying  success  attended  his  preaching  of  the 
Gospel.  Large  numbers  were  added  to  the  church,  while 
the  older  members  were  built  up  in  their  most  holy  faith. 
Never  was  the  cause  more  firmly  established  in  the  city 


46 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  Baltimore,  and  never  were  the  prospefts  more  flatter- 
ing than  on  the  last  days  of  his  ministry  there. 

While  it  is  a  source  of  great  regret  that  he  was  cut  ofF 
in  the  midst  of  so  much  usefulness,  it  affords  no  little 
satisfadion  to  refled  that  a  life,  so  full  of  self-denial  and 
labor,  closed  at  last  in  the  midst  of  such  triumphant 
success. 


THE  GOOD  CONFESSION. 


BY  D.  S.  BURNET. 


** Jesus  Christ  witnessed  a  good  confession." — i  Tim.  vi:  13. 

THE  Good  Confession,  more  than  any  other  pecu- 
liarity, distinguishes  the  people  who  choose  to  be 
called  Christians  or  Disciples  of  Christ.  What  the  text 
calls  the  good  confession  is  exadled  of  every  candidate 
for  baptism,  and  upon  it,  rather  than  any  other  consider- 
ation apart  from  his  hearty  faith  in  it,  the  party  is  ad- 
mitted to  that  holy  institution.  Confident  of  the  coredt- 
ness  of  the  pradlice,  beloved,  I  ask.  your  attention  to  some 
suggestions  in  regard  to  its  import,  its  scripturality,  its 
uses,  and  its  abuses. 

The  reasons  of  the  course  now  proposed  are  simply 
these:  Surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  religious  denomi- 
nations, within  the  last  forty-five  years  a  community  has 
grown  from  zero  to  a  half  million,  without  a  denomina- 
tional asped,  and  stands  to-day  unmarked  by  a  human 
formula.  It  is  founded  upon  the  good  confession  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Living  God. 

The  world  has  a  right  to  know  whether  this  is  a  scrip- 
tural method  of  constituting  the  Church,  and  what  are  its 
pradical  workings  in  society.  What  the  world  demands, 
we  as  a  people  fully  concede.    As  far  as  this  address  can 

C47") 


48 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


answer  the  demand,  "it  is  my  purpose  to  show  that  the 
Primitive  Church  had  no  other  doftrinal  foundation ; 
that  the  convert  had  no  other  claim  upon  baptism;  and 
that  the  recent  recovery  from  the  apostolic  ages  of  this 
formula  has  justified  the  terms,  "  Reformation  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century." 

What  is  the  Good  Confession  ?  The  text  is  part  of  a 
valuable  passage,  which  in  the  authorized  version  reads, 
"  Thou  hast  professed  a  good  profession,  before  many 
witnesses.  I  give  thee  in  charge  in  the  sight  of  God  who 
quickeneth  all  things,  and  before  Jesus  Christ,  who  be- 
fore Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confession,"  etc. 
The  Greek  words  represented  by  "a  good  profession" 
in  the  12th,  and  "a  good  confession"  in  the  13th  verses, 
are  the  same — rr^v  Ka)jjv  buoloyiav — and  therefore  should 
be  rendered  by  the  same  words  in  both  cases.  It  should 
be  confession  in  both  verses,  for  the  verb  biioloyko)^  of  the 
context,  means  to  confess.  It  is  defined,  "to  speak  one 
language ;  to  say  together  ;  to  hold  the  same  language ; 
to  agree  with  another;  confess;  to  be  connedled  with  one; 
to  come  to  terms  of  surrender."  Out  of  twenty-two 
occurrences  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  never  translated 
"profess"  but  twice;  and  one  of  those  cases  is  in  the  text. 
We  will,  therefore,  translate  the  passage  thus:  "Thou 
hast  confessed  the  good  confession  before  many  witnesses. 
I  charge  thee  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  makes  all  things 
alive,  and  Jesus  Christ,  who,  in  the  time  of  Pontius  Pi- 
late, witnessed  the  good  confession,  keep  this  command- 
ment." In  the  prosecution  of  our  inquiries,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  recur  to  this  translation.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  article  in  the  Greek  requires  the  amended  ver- 
sion to  read  '■'■the  good  confession."  There  is  the  width 
of  the  seas  between  a  and  the  in  this  connedion.  Doubt- 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


49 


less  Timothy  often  confessed  a  good  confession,  but  al- 
lusion is  made  here  to  one  particular  and  peculiar  confes- 
sion, which  the  apostle  designates,  par  excellence,  the  Good 
Confession — a  formula  pronounced  once,  and  but  once, 
in  his  lifetime,  as  a  religious  a6l. 

Both  Jesus  and  Timothy  made  this  confession.  In 
what,  then,  did  it  consist?    In  reply,  it  is  affirmed: 

I.  That  the  good  confession  is  the  historical  and  logi- 
cal aspe<5t  of  the  Gospel. 

The  Apostle  John  sums  up  his  memoirs  of  Christ  in 
these  remarkable  words :  "These  are  written  that  ye  might 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God."*  It 
would  be  safe  to  suppose  that  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke 
wrote  their  several  works  for  the  same  purpose.  It  is  in- 
evitable, then,  that  the  only  recognized  account  of  Jesus, 
embracing  half  the  New  Testament,  is  a  historical  and  log- 
ical defense  of  the  Messiahship  and  Lordship,  the  mission 
and  the  Divinity,  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth;  in  other  words, 
that  those  books  elaborate  and  defend  the  proposition 
which  has  been  called  the  Good  Confession.  As  they  con- 
tain the  matter-of-fact  grounds  on  which  Christ  must  be 
obeyed,  they  have  for  ages  been  called  the  Four  Gospels. 

In  the  record  of  that  most  touching  interview  between 
Jesus  and  the  sisters  of  Lazarus,  which  has  been  the  leg- 
acy of  the  children  of  sorrow  for  near  two  thousand  years, 
Martha  but  represents  the  expedlations  of  the  pious  Isra- 
elites, when  she  declares,  "  I  believe  thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  which  should  come  into  the  worlds  The 
coming  one  was  to  be,  they  thought,  both  Messiah  and 
Son.  They  supposed  the  new  kingdom  would  be  inau- 
gurated by  the  resurredlion  of  many  of  the  prophets,  the 


4 


*John  XX :  31. 


THE  LIVIXG  PULPIT. 


reappearance  of  Moses  and  Elijah,  and  that  the  Messiah, 
who  had  otten  appeared  to  the  nation  as  its  deliverer, 
would  reign  in  unexampled  splendor.* 

But  the  instrument  of  salvation,  called  the  Gospel,  was 
committed  to  the  apostles -to  be  preached  and  adminis- 
tered to  people  of  all  nations.  The  ABs  of  Apostles  is  the 
only  inspired  record  of  their  preaching.  It  fully  sustains 
the  proposition  that  the  words  of  this  Confession  are  the 
staple  of  the  Gosple.  These  heaven-qualified  and  com- 
missioned preachers  either  ignored  all  other  issues  or 
used  them  in  subservience  to  the  elaboration  and  enforce- 
ment of  this  Confession.  To  a  careful  reader,  nothing 
will  be  more  apparent  than  that  the  whole  purpose  of  the 
apostolic  ministry  was  to  argue  and  enforce  the  claims  of 
Jesus  upon  the  faith,  reverence,  and  heartfelt  obedience 
of  all  classes  of  persons,  as  the  heaven-provided  Savior 
of  a  lost  race.  They  drove  this  one  point  to  the  con- 
viftion  and  submission  of  all  but  the  incorrigible.  They 
had  nothing  to  do  with  doftrines.  They  preached  a  per- 
son, Jesus,  made  of  a  woman,  as  human  as  his  mother,  and 
having  been  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  as 
divine  as  his  Father.  Every  discourse  tended  to  this  con- 
vi(5tion,  whether  addressed  to  saint  or  sinner.  The  reign 
of  grace  opened  among  men  bv  the  triumphant  carrying 
of  this  point  under  the  formula  "Let  all  the  house  of 
Israel  know  assuredly  that  God  hath  made  Jesus  whom 
ye  crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ;"  and  it  was  "when 
they  heard  this,  they  were  pierced  to  the  heart;"  and 
that  day  three  thousands  of  them  surrendered  to  the  con- 
quering Crucified,  by  being  baptized  in  his  name.f    By  a 


*See  Kinnoel,  Lightfoot,  Schoetgen,  Bloomfield,  Townsend,  etc. 
fActs  II :  36,  37. 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


5» 


similar  argument  the  same  inspired  apostle  opened  the 
door  of  faith  to  the  Gentile  world.*  Philip,  in  Samaria, 
"preached  Christ  unto  them.""j* 

It  is  but  necessary  now  to  examine  the  method  of 
preaching  adopted  by  the  remaining  great  adlor  ot  this 
book  of  primitive  church  history,  Paul  the  apostle. 
Here  we  are  happily  relieved  from  all  darkness  or  doubt 
in  regard  to  the  didadic  course  of  this  most  renowned 
champion  of  the  Cross.  "  Paul,  as  his  manner  was,  went 
in  unto  them,  and  three  Sabbath-days  reasoned  with 
them  out  of  the  Scriptures,  explaining  and  alleging  that 
the  Christ  must  needs  have  suffered  and  risen  from  the 
dead,  and  that  this  Jesus  whom  I  preach  unto  you  is  the 
Christ."!  Enough  has  been  said  to  demonstrate  our 
point,  that  there  was  no  gospel,  and  it  may  be  added, 
there  is  no  gospel,  which  is  not  founded  on  this  primi- 
tive formula.§ 

The  moral  rather  than  the  logical  side  of  the  Gospel, 
the  love  of  God  to  the  world,  the  sympathy  of  angels, 
and  the  persuasion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  not  to  mention 
objeftionable  forms  of  expression,  have  been  unwisely 
permitted  to  usurp  pulpit  and  popular  attention,  while 
the  apostolic  method  of  presentation,  including  the  moral 
and  logical,  has  been  ignored. 

II.  The  Good  Confession,  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  is  the  creed  and  foundation  of  the  Primitive 
Church. 

The  Jews  never  had  an  uninspired  creed.  The  Bible 
was  their  only  divine  book.    Israelites  and  Samaritans 

*Acts  x:  34,  43.  fActs  viii:  5.  J  Acts  xvii:  2,  3. 

§  The  celebrated  metaphysician  and  Christian,  John  Locke,  wrote  a 
volume  to  prove  this  first  proposition  of  this  discourse.  It  is  long  since 
out  of  print. 


52 


THE  LIVING  PULPJT. 


had  the  same  Pentateuch.  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  wor- 
shiped in  the  same  Synagogue.  God  never  contemplated 
any  substitute  for  his  Word.  It  alone  is  to  enlighten, 
govern,  and  save.  The  legacy  of  the  apostle  to  the 
Ephesian  elders  was  this  sacred  treasure:  "I  commend 
you  to  God  and  to  the  Word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able 
to  build  you  up  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among 
them  which  are  sandlified."  Thus  Jesus  adopts  the  Good 
Confession  as  the  rock  of  his  kingdom. f 

The  church  was  not  yet  in  existence,  but  it  was  to  be 
eredled  upon  this  foundation  when  built.  "  Thus  saith 
Jehovah  God,  Behold  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a 
stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  corner,  a  sure  foundation; 
he  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste."  J  This  was  the 
basis  of  faith.  In  Corinth  Paul  laid  the  same  founda- 
tion: "  I  have  laid  the  foundation."  "  Other  foundation 
can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ  ;"§ 
that  is,  Jesus  Christ  doctrinal — Jesus  Christ  in  this  for- 
mula, with  its  accompanying  proofs,  illustrations,  and 
enforcements.  Until  some  one  shall  arise — no  one  has 
yet  done  so — and  show  that  God  ever  authorized  a  re- 
ligious society,  Jewish  or  Christian,  to  be  founded  upon 
an  uninspired  document,  it  will  be  taken  for  granted  that 
Jesus  meant  what  he  said  in  these  utterances,  and  that 
the  Good  Confession,  as  defined  in  the  conversation  be- 
tween Jesus  and  his  disciples,  is  the  dodlrinal  foundation 
of  the  Church,  as  it  is  of  the  individual  faith  of  each  of 
its  members.  It  may  be  objedled  that  the  whole  New 
Testament  is  considered  the  rock  of  the  Church.  Truly, 

*Acts  XX :  32. 

fMatt.  xvi:  16-18.    By  the  laws  of  language,  the  rock  is  the  confes- 
•  siop.  which  Peter  had  just  made.    So  wrote  Chrysostom. 
J  Isaiah  xxviii:  16.  §l  Cor.  iii:  lo,  11. 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


53 


it  is  the  Divine  diredlory  of  the  Church.  The  Ten  Com- 
mandments were  the  constitution  of  the  Jews,  or  the  old 
covenant,  the  bulwark  of  the  unity  of  God  against  Poly- 
theism. The  Good  Confession  sustains  the  same  relation 
to  the  Christian  Church.  It  is  the  new  covenant  and  the 
development  of  divine  society  in  God — the  Father,  Son, 
and  Spirit.  The  Confession  was  laid  as  a  foundation  in 
Zion  by  the  Father  (Isaiah  xxviii:  i6),  and  Jesus  built 
the  Church  upon  it  throughout  the  Roman  empire  before 
the  New  Testament  was  written  and  compiled. 

There  is  a  religion  of  the  New  Testament  as  well  de- 
fined as  the  religion  of  the  Athanasian  or  Augsburg  Con- 
fessions, or  the  miscalled  Apostles'  Creed,  and  perfe6lly 
distind  from  either  of  them.  The  New  Testament  com- 
prises the  "church  standards"  of  Christianity.  In  tak- 
ing the  Bible  we  accept  all  truth — in  taking  the  Bible 
alone^  we  rejeft  all  error. 

III.  The  Good  Confession  is  Divine. 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  all  the  Bible  is  Divine — it  is 
inspired.  But  it  is  not  intended  in  this  statement  to  say 
that  the  Good  Confession  is  inspired.  The  words  of  all 
the  sacred  writers  are  inspired,  by  whomsoever  spoken — 
saint,  sinner,  angel,  or  demon ;  that  is,  God  had  them 
written.  But  it  is  claimed  for  this  Confession  that  God 
made  it,  that  it  is  the  foundation  which  he  laid  in  Zion. 
He  gave  these  words  to  no  prophet,  angel,  or  apostle  to 
announce.  He  charged  the  atmosphere  with  them  him- 
self. "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon,  son  of  Jonah,  for  flesh 
and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."* 

Though  there  is  some  disputation  as  to  the  time  when 


*  Matt,  xvi:  17. 


54 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  Father  made  this  revelation  to  Peter,  the  record 
seems  to  point  to  the  baptism  of  Jesus  in  the  Jordan  as 
the  occasion.  God  made  the  revelation,  and  when  others 
were  appalled  by  the  disproportion  between  the  common 
appearance  and  lofty  claims  of  Jesus,  Peter  remembered 
and  rightly  interpreted  it.  For  this  his  Master  gave  him 
the  blessing.  Heaven  grant  that  it  may  be  a  revelation 
and  a  blessing  to  us  all !  John  the  Baptist's  testimony 
sustains  this  view.  "I  knew  him  not;  but  that  he  should 
be  made  manifest  to  Israel,  therefore  I  am  come  baptiz- 
ing in  water."*  By  saying,  further,  that  God  had  told 
him  that  upon  whom  he  should  see  the  Spirit  descend- 
ing and  remaining,  "the  same  is  he  that  baptizeth  in  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  he  fully  identifies  the  revelation  with  the 
events  of  the  baptism.  Those,  events  themselves  teach 
us  the  same  lesson.  The  heavens  opened  while  the  yet 
uninaugurated  Son  and  his  harbinger  were  but  coming 
out  of  the  waters  of  the  sacred  river — the  heavens  opened 
in  the  face  of  the  shining  sun!  Was  the  miracle  in  the 
circumambient  space,  or  in  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  be- 
holders? Stephen,  by  an  exaltation  of  vision,  saw  Jesus 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  as  a  man  by  the  aid  of  a  tele- 
scope sees  volcanoes  in  the  moon.  To  the  spectators  the 
heavens  opened,  and  to  connedl  those  heavens  with  Jesus 
by  a  visible  link,  the  dove-like  Spirit,  the  power  and  the 
heart  of  God  came  down  in  beautiful  gyrations,  bearing 
the  olive-branch  of  glory — the  Messiahship.  For  what 
is  Messiah  in  Hebrew,  and  Christ,  its  equivalent,  in 
Greek,  but  anointed  ?  Jesus  was  christed  by  the  Spirit's 
descending  and  remaining  on  him.  This  was  in  fulfill- 
ment of  prophecy.   "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon 


*John  1:31.'  In,  in  the  Greek,  in  verses  31  and  33. 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


55 


me,  because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good 
tidings  unto  the  meek."* 

The  first  three  Evangelists  coincide  in  the  statement 
that,  following  the  Spirit-anointing  or  christing,  "  There 
came  a  voice,  saying.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased."  "j*  This  established  the  Sonship  of  the 
Confession.  The  two,  the  anointing  of  the  Spirit  and  the 
avouching  of  the  Father,  embrace  its  two  elements,  mak- 
ing it  divine,  in  the  sense  of  done  and  said  of  God  in 
person.  Again,  the  evangelical  prophet  is  justified  by 
the  evangelical  annals:  "Behold  my  servant  whom  I  will 
uphold,  mine  eledl  in  whom  my  soul  delights,  I  have 
put  my  Spirit  upon  him."  J  This  accuracy  of  delinea- 
tion transforms  the  prophecy  into  history.  We  have  the 
Father's  words  interpreted — Behold  the  anointed — he  is 
my  Son — my  delight. 

God,  who  has  many  oracles— the  Spirit,  angels,  and 
men — seldom  speaks  in  person.  He  spake,  and  it  was 
done.  He  gave  us  a  world.  He  spoke  in  Eden,  and 
organized  a  family  with  language  and  religion.  After 
a  silence  of  twenty-five  centuries,  he  stayed  his  cloud- 
chariot  over  Horeb.  The  heavens  lighted  their  fires,  and 
uttered  their  thunders.  The  terrified  mountains  trem- 
bled like  aspen  leaves.  He  uttered  his  voice,  the  earth 
melted.  He  spoke  "  the  ten  words,"  and  organized  a 
sacred  nation.  Fifteen  centuries  more  passed  and  the 
heavens  open  again,  now  over  the  sacred  river,  lying- deep 
in  the  bosom  of  mother  earth.  The  voice  and  Spirit  of 
the  Father  are  poured  in  the  dove  form  of  mercy,  and  the 


*  Isaiah  Ixi:  i.  Compare  Luke  iv:  16-21  ;  Acts  x:  38. 
I  Compare  Matt,  iii :  17;  Mark  i:  11,  and  Luke  Hi:  22. 
■j;  Isaiah  xlii :  i. 


56 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


utterances  of  afFedion — My  Son — my  delight.  This  Con- 
fession, thus  completed,  is  in  the  highest  sense  divine. 

It  is  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  this  third 
proposition.  If  the  Good  Confession  is  the  marrow  and 
fatness  of  the  Gospel,  if  it  is  the  rock  chosen  on  which 
to  found  the  Church,  no  one  could  objedt  to  its  being 
called  divine.  But  the  word  divine  receives  a  new  power 
in  this  connexion,  where  the  ad  of  the  Spirit  and  the 
word  of  the  Father  are  proved  to  constitute  the  Confes- 
sion itself.  The  Church  of  Christ  is  pre-eminently  a 
divine  institution,  and  is  degraded  by  the  thought  of  an 
uninspired  basis.  The  convert  is  not  called  upon  to 
emasculate  his  reason  and  humble  his  manhood  by  bow- 
ing to  a  humanism  in  the  vestibule  of  the  temple  of 
truth.  His  "faith  and  hope  rest  in  God."  This  preach- 
ing is  "  in  demonstration  of  the  spirit  and  power,  that 
your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in 
the  power  of  God."* 

There  is  something  peculiar  in  the  employment  of 
bpLoloyia  as  the  name  of  the  confession,  and  the  verb  bfio- 
Xoyzio  to  express  confess.  There  are  several  other  Greek 
words  which  signify  confess  and  confession,  but  they  do 
not  have  the  superadded  idea  of  repeating  after  another, 
or  "  holding  the  same  language."  In  the  Greek,  then, 
those  who  confess,  repeat  what  was  first  said  by  the 
Father  concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  This  appears 
more  obvious  from  the  consideration  that  the  noun  bfio- 
Xoyia  is  compounded  of  one  and  the  same,  and  Xiyo 

to  speak,  declare,  recount.  The  confession  by  a  penitent 
is  a  repeating  after  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  as 
did  Peter,  who  got  the  blessing.    Although  this  Confes- 


I  Cor.  ii:  4,  5. 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


57 


sion  is  never  quoted  as  an  authority  for  sponsors,  yet  it 
is  the  nearest  approach  to  the  idea  of  sponsors  which  the 
Bible  contains.  The  Spirit  visibly  rests  upon  Jesus,  and 
the  aspirant  for  baptism  cries,  "Jesus  is  the  Christ." 
The  Father  says,  "Behold  my  Son;"  the  candidate  re- 
sponds, "I  believe  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God."  The  He- 
brew ni^\  rendered  confess,  means,  first,  to  pronounce, 
to  utter,  and,  after,  confess;  in  its  very  common  use, 
"give  thanks,  praise,  celebrate,  glorify,  i.  e.,  name  aloud, 
with  the  accusative  of  the  objeft.""' 

In  one  of  his  controversies  with  the  Jews,  in  the  array 
of  evidences  of  his  mission,  Jesus  said,  "Though  I  bear 
record  of  myself,  my  record  is  true;"t  and  the  Baptist 
said,  "  He  that  hath  received  his  testimony  hath  set  to 
his  seal  that  God  is  true."  J  God  avouched  Jesus,  and 
requires  that  we  should  solemnly  declare  his  testimony 
correft  ;  that  we  should  indorse  the  Father's  testimony 
of  the  Son. 

In  John  V,  Jesus  appeals  to  his  countrymen  to  believe 
the  testimony  of  the  Baptist  and  his  own  daily  miracles, 
triumphantly  adding  to  these  evidences,  "  The  Father 
himself  who  sent  me  hath  borne  witness  of  me.  Did  you 
never  hear  his  voice,  or  see  his  form?  or  have  you  for- 
gotten his  declaration?"  This  translation  of  Dr.  Camp- 
bell, the  President  of  Marischal  College,  Edinburgh,  has 
been  objefted  to  as  not  being  true  to  history.  Neverthe- 
less, the  weight  of  evidence  seems  to  sustain  it,  and  har- 
monizing admirably  with  the  objed  of  this  discourse,  it 
casts  a  flood  of  light  on  the  transadion  at  the  Jordan, 

*  Fuerst's  Lexicon. 

f  John  viii:  14.  In  v.  31,  "Jesus  said.  If  I  testify  of  myself  my  tes- 
timony is  not  true /.  e.,.  in  a  court  of  justice,  I  alone  am  not  a  legal 
witness  in  my  own  case.  J  John  iii:  33. 


58 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


when  the  visible  anointing  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  audible 
testimony  of  the  Father  designated  him  of  whom  Moses 
in  the  Law  and  the  prophets  did  write.  The  Spirit  de- 
scended in  a  bodily  shape  like  a  dove  upon  him.*  The 
invisible  God,  who  dwells  in  light  inaccessible,  has  often 
assumed  a  form,  and  once  became  flesh,  and  tabernacled 
in  clay  for  years.  We  beheld  his  glory  as  the  glory  of 
the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth, 
like  the  fire  of  God  in  the  unconsumed  green  and  flower- 
ing shrub  on  Horeb. 

The  Greek  for  confession,  in  ancient  military  language, 
was  the  word  which  designated  the  terms  of  surrender. 
There  is  great  propriety  in  thus  styling  the  words  by 
which  a  sinner  publicly  concedes  the  viftory  to  the  Prince 
of  Peace 

IV.  The  Good  Confession  is  the  most  liberal  confes- 
sion of  faith  on  record. 

This  may  be  inferred  from  its  simplicity.  There  is 
nothing  intricate  in  it.  It  involves  the  great  fadt  of  the 
Bible,  the  central  truth  of  the  whole  revelation.  Jesus  is 
the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  all  sacred  literature.  It  is  truly 
a  confession  of  faith,  and  not  of  opinions.  In  this  respedl 
it  is  unlike  any  symbol  of  any  denomination.  //  relates 
words  from  the  lips  of  Jehovah — they^  words  of  unin- 
spired men  regarding  real  or  fancied  principles  supposed 
to  be,  or  implied,  in  the  statements  of  the  Bible.  Man 
recoils  from  man  clad  in  undue  authority.  It  is  a  lesson 
taught  by  Jehovah:  "Cursed  be  the  man  that  trusteth  in 
man,"  (himself  or  another,)  "and  maketh  flesh  his  arm."-j- 
The  time  will  never  come  when  the  body  of  Christ  will 
be  based  upon  any  one  sectarian  symbol  or  creed,  and  be 


Luke  iii:  zz. 


■f-Jer.  xvii:  5. 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


59 


clad  in  its  parti-colored  garment.  A  prayer  for  union  in 
that  diredion  is  a  vain  hope.  The  intercessory  of  Jesus 
is  for  those  who  should  believe  on  him  through  the  word 
of  the  apostles,  that  they  all  might  be  one.*  The  relig- 
ious world  gives  its  homage  to  the  Word  of  God.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  their  leaders  of  the  people  will  not 
permit  them  to  renounce  their  creeds  and  unite  on  it. 

This  formula  is  disentangled  thus  from  the  innumera- 
ble vexed  questions  of  religious  strife.  Perhaps  each  one 
of  us  has  a  preference  among  the  religious  philosophies 
which  have  been  christened  after  their  authors,  Augus- 
tine, Calvin,  Arminius,  etc.;  but  all  intelligent  persons 
separate  them  from  Christianity.  Holding  or  withhold- 
ing assent  to  any  of  them  does  not  necessarily  make 
either  a  good  or  a  bad  man.  But  to  confess  true  faith  in 
Christ  materially  improves  the  charadler  and  advances 
the  prospers  of  sinful  men.  As  the  confessor  naturally 
takes  the  name  of  the  confessed,  the  convert  is,  and  he 
is  called,  a  Christian.  Illiberality  has  been  charged  upon 
the  assumption  of  our  leader's  name,  as  though  it  were 
ostentatious  and  invidious  to  be  named  after  our  Master. 
If  one  may  be  called  a  Platonist  or  a  Calvinist,  may  you 
not  be  named  a  Christian  ?  Does  not  James  intimate 
that  the  name  of  Christ  was  called  upon  all  disciples  P^f 
When  will  the  time  come  for  all  followers  of  Jesus  to  be 
called  Christians  ?  Would  there  be  any  thing  invidious 
in  that?  But  one  will  say,  "We  are  all  called  Christians; 
it  is  invidious  in  you  to  appropriate  the  name  to  your- 
selves." We  deny  no  one  the  right  to  confess  and  follow 
Christ,  and  to  wear  his  name.  We  simply  refuse  to  wear 
any  additional  name,  or  to  hold  any  thing  as  matter  of 


*Johnxvii:20  21.   |Jamesii:7.   See  Greek.   Compare  Afts  xi :  26, 


6o 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


faith,  not  found  in  the  New  Testament.  This  can  not 
be  illiberal !  The  highest  Christian  liberality  consists  in 
standing  up  for  Jesus  and  his  Word,  and  inviting  all 
others  to  do  the  same.  We  deny  the  right  of  any  one  to 
assume  the  name  of  an  uninspired  leader,  as  Luther,  or 
Wesley,  or  Campbell,  great  and  good  as  those  men  were. 
Therefore,  none  of  our  hymn-books  or  periodicals  are 
thus  designated.  We  are  equally  opposed  to  calling  a 
church  after  any  system  of  ecclesiastical  polity,  as  Epis- 
copal, Presbyterian,  Congregational,  etc.  These  are  not 
descriptive.  Our  Church  claims  all  these  terms,  but  puts 
them  upon  none  of  its  books,  papers,  or  houses  of  wor- 
ship, or  willingly  wears  an  uninspired  style.  There  is  no 
denominationalism  in  Christianity. 

V.  Christ  made  the  Good  Confession  before  the  Jewish 
high-priest  and  Sanhedrim,  during  the  administration  of 
Pontius  Pilate,  and  died  for  the  making  of  it. 

The  authorized  version  of  our  text  reads,  "Jesus  before 
Pontius  Pilate."  I  have  rendered  the  words  eTr;  UovtIou 
nddroo,  in  the  time  of  Pontius  Pilate,  in  the  sense  of, 
during  the  administration  of,  etc.  Ent  signifies  the  time 
in  which  something  happens.  On  the  subjed  of  date,  it 
is  thus  used  both  in  the  classics  and  in  Scripture.*  At- 
tention is  called  to  this  criticism,  because  Jesus  made  his 
confession,  truly,  in  the  time  of  Pilate,  but  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  high  priest.  The  incident  is  most  important 
and  touching.  In  the  trial  before  the  Sanhedrim,  the 
complaint  against  Jesus  came  near  being  dismissed  for 
want  of  evidence.    A  comparison  of  Matthew,  Mark,  and 

*See  the  Greek  of  Luke  iii  :  2.  During  high  priesthood  (singular)  of 
Annas  and  Caiaphas,  Mark  ii :  26,  common  version  rendered  correftly 
f«c  'Apcd  flap,  in  the  days  of  Abiathar.  See  also  Mark  xv:  i,  Luke  iv: 
25,  John  iv:  27,  where  f?ti  means  during. 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


6i 


Luke  shows  that  many  witnesses  were  presented  by  the 
prosecutors,  but  their  testimony  was  irrelevant.  At  last, 
two  agreed  to  say  that  Jesus  had  threatened  to  destroy 
the  temple  of  God.  As  he  had  indeed  said,  if  they  should 
destroy  the  temple,  meaning  and  pointing  to  his  body,  he 
would  rear  it  up  in  three  days,  they  had  but  to  garble  the 
statement  to  rouse  the  national  hatred.  But  they  failed 
again,  as  the  testimony  of  the  twjo  did  not  circumstan- 
tially agree.  When  they  were  bafBed  at  every  point,  the 
presiding  Hierarch,  coming  to  the  aid  of  the  prosecut- 
ors, cried  out,  "  I  adjure  you  by  the  Living  God,"  (I 
put  you  upon  your  oath,)  ''tell  us  whether  thou  be  the 
Christ  the  Son  of  God.  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou  hast 
said."*  It  is  here  we  -find  the  ground  of  his  condem- 
nation. He  died  for  the  Good  Confession!  The  high 
priest  rent  his  clothes,  an  adion  emblematical  of  fear  and 
sorrow,  sometimes  of  indignation,  and  also  employed 
when  giving  the  accused  up  to  the  rigors  of  the  law. 
The  consul  Paulus  rent  his  garment  through  indigna- 
tion, and  Julius  Cssar  did  the  same  to  appease  the  infu- 
riated multitude.  The  fad  is  twice  related  of  Augustus. 
Caiaphas  tore  his  pontifical  robe  in  irrepressible  rage, 
making  more  impressive  his  surrender  of  the  darling 
Lamb  of  God  to  the  punishment  of  blasphemy,  for  he 
instantly  put  to  vote  the  question  of  his  execution  on  the 
charge  of  that  crime.  The  Jews  of  the  present  day  justify 
their  ancestors  and  themselves  in  rejeding  the  greatest  of 
men,  as  some  rabbis  call  him,  on  the  ground  of  the  blas- 
phemy involved  in  his  claim  of  Divine  Sonship. 

In  every  attitude  assumed  by  Jesus  in  the  evangelical 
history,  he  excites  our  admiration  and  love;  but  that  he 


Matt,  xxvi :  63. 


62 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


himself  should  furnish  the  ground  of  his  immolation, 
when  his  foes  had  failed,  transcends  all  our  conceptions 
of  the  morally  sublime,  and  bankrupts  love  itself  in  its 
adoration. 

"Come,  then,  expressive  silence,  muse  his  praise." 

VI.  The  Confession  by  which  Jesus  died  is  appointed 
for  our  life. 

The  deep-felt  convidlion  of  all  races  and  all  ages  coin- 
cides with  the  Bible  statement  that  man  is  a  sinner. 
"  The  whole  head  is  sick  and  the  whole  heart  faint.  From 
the  sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the  crown  of  the  head, 
there  is  no  soundness  in  it;  but  wounds,  and  bruises,  and 
putrefying  sores."*  The  prophet  is  confirmed  by  the 
apostle.  "I  find  then  a  law,  that,  when  I  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present  with  me."f  The  heathen  poet  ex- 
perienced the  same  internal  struggle: 

Aliudque  cupido. 
Mens  aliud  suadet.    Vides  meliora  proboque; 
Deteriora  sequor. 

Confession  of  Christ  is  a  condition  of  salvation  from 
sin.  Confess  me  before  men,  and  I  will  own  you  before 
the  burning  throne,  is  the  promise  of  Christ.  There  is 
no  recognition  before  God  and  angels  without  it.  J  The 
relation  of  the  Confession  to  the  cure  of  sin  will  be  no- 
ticed hereafter;  it  is  enough  now  to  show  that  the  Con- 
fession which  brought  death  to  Jesus  brings  life  to  us. 
The  apostle  says:  "With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made 
unto  salvation."  § 


*  Isaiah  i :  5. 

I  Matt,  x:  32,  33.    Luke  xii:  8,  9. 


f  Rom.  vii:  21. 
§  Rom.  X:  10. 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


63 


What  mercy!  Jesus  died  by  our  sin,  and  for  it,  and 
we  live  by  his  righteousness.  He  died  for  acknowledg- 
ing himself  to  be  our  Messiah  and  God's  Son — the  God- 
Man  Savior.  We  live  by  believing  and  confessing  the 
words  which  condemned  him.  He  died  confessing,  that 
we  might  live  confessing!  It  is  a  brazen  serpent  cures 
the  serpent's  bite ! 

VII.  The  import  and  value  of  this  formula  entitles  it 
to  the  designation  Good  or  Beautiful  Confession. 

Can  a  man  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  and  not 
have  the  spirit  of  obedience?  Can  he  be  a  rebel  against 
him?  When  about  to  ascend  to  heaven,  Jesus  observed 
to  his  disciples:  "All  authority  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
is  conferred  upon  me."*  This  was  simply  stating  that 
he  was  the  Messiah  of  the  old  covenant — the  Christ  of 
the  new.  Antiquity,  weary  of  exhausting  all  the  stores 
of  its  rhetoric  for  designations  of  David's  son,  fell  upon 
the  expedient  of  calling  him  the  n'L"D,  Messiah,  anointed, 
in  Daniel, f  and  ever  after  so  styled  him.  When  the  Jews 
adopted  the  Greek  language,  they  employed  Xpcazoi;,  An- 
glicised Christ,  because  it  was  of  the  same  import.  As  all 
authority,  sacerdotal  and  regal,  was  conferred  by  anoint- 
ing with  oil,  to  call  "him  that  was  to  come"  the  anointed, 
was  to  say  precisely  what  Jesus  affirmed — all  authority, 
celestial  and  terrestrial,  is  conferred  upon  me.  The  Jews 
on  Pentecost  were  pierced  to  the  heart,  when  they  under- 
stood from  the  fisherman  apostle  that  God  had  made  the 
person  whom  they  had  consigned  to  ignominy  and  death 
both  Lord  and  Christ,  and  nothing  could  be  more  natu- 
ral than  their  agonizing  shriek.  Brethren,  what  shall  we 
do  ?    Then,  verbally,  Christ  is  anointed,  but  evangeli- 


*  Matt,  xxviii:  18. 


f  Daniel  ix :  25,  26. 


64 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


cally,  he  receives  all  authority  and  power.  Faith  in  the 
Christhood  admits  the  regal  authority  of  Jesus,  and  is  the 
very  germ  of  obedience. 

But  it  is  more.  The  anointed  is  Priest— High  Priest. 
Paul  beautifully  unfolds  the  idea  in  the  Hebrews.  Christ- 
hood  is  sacrifice  and  offering;  blood  at  the  altar  and 
blood  at  the  mercy-seat.  It  is  death  for  sin,  the  innocent 
for  the  sins  of  the  guilty,  and  ceaseless  intercession  in 
heaven  for  the  erring.  No  man  intelligently  believes  this 
without  feeling  that  he  is  a  sinner  needing  a'Savior.  To 
confess  the  Christhood  of  Jesus  is  to  avow  one's  self  a 
sinner,  and  to  come  to  God  bearing  this  precious  Lamb 
that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  in  his  heart.  He 
sings  with  Watts : 

"  My  faith  would  lay  her  hand 
On  that  dear  head  of  thine. 
While  like  a  penitent  I  stand. 
And  thus  confess  my  sin." 

Can  one  say  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  without  admit- 
ting the  divinity  of  his  mission  ?  Can  any  make  the  Con- 
fession of  the  Sonship  without  acknowledging  the  Father- 
hood ?  Can  any  one  recognize  a  Father  and  a  Son  in  God 
without  acknowledging  God  in  both?  Is  the  Father  di- 
vine ?  So  is  the  Son,  else  there  were  not  the  communit) 
of  nature  imparted  by  those  two  relations  ;  for  Jesus  is 
not  a  Son  of  God  by  creation,  but  the  Son  of  God  by 
birth — the  only-begotten  of  the  Father. 

The  Confession  presents  Jesus  objeftively  in  all  his  of- 
ficial and  personal  relations  to  the  universe— the  Lord  of 
all  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and  the  Savior  of  sinners. 
Blessed 'be  his  holy  name!  Subjeftively,  the  confessor 
stands  before  God  a  sinner,  meeting  Jehovah  at  the  altar 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


65 


of  sacrifice  and  the  mercy-seat  upon  the  blood  of  Jesus. 
Here  God  exclaims, 

"My  Son,  in  whom  I  delight!" 

The  confessor  responds,  "  He  is  the  chiefest  among  ten 
thousands,  and  the  one  altogether  lovely!"  The  Cross 
of  Christ  is  the  pacification  of  the  universe.  Blessed  are 
all  they  who  put  their  trust  in  him  ! 

The  words  rvjy  y.al-qv  of  the  text,  translated  "the  good," 
as  applied  to  the  Confession,  may  be  rendered  "the  beau- 
tiful." It  is  defined  beautiful,  applied  to  visible  things 
and  persons  ;  to  man's  inward  nature,  morally  beautiful, 
noble;  serving  a  good  end,  good,  fair.  The  noble,  the 
beautiful  Confession  !.  So  honorable  to  God,  so  invalu- 
able and  creditable  to  man  !  During  a  ministry  of  over 
forty  years,  it  has  been  the  delight  of  your  speaker  to 
take  this  good,  noble,  and  beautiful  Confession  of  thou- 
sands. No  pearl  so  priceless  or  diamond  so  bright  to 
the  eye  of  faith  as  the  pure  distillation  of  sorrow  on  the 
cheek  of  penitence  !  and  no  music  so  tender  as  the  sweet 
response  of  the  heart,  "  I  do  believe,  and  I  wish  to  serve 
Jesus  ! " 

The  reception  of  thousands  upon  the  simple  confes- 
sion of  faith  and  obedience  has  caused  some  nervousness 
among  those  who  require  a  recital  of  inward  struggles, 
and  delineations  of  the  various  shades  of  darkness  and 
light,  doubt  and  confidence,  which  may  have  marked  the 
progress  of  the  soul  to  final  submission.  Who  has  pro- 
duced one  precedent  or  precept  for  the  admission  of 
persons  to  baptism  upon  any  other  basis  than  the  Con- 
fession ?  Echo  asks.  Who?  and  asks  in  vain  !  It  must, 
however,  be  admitted  that,  like  every  other  good  thing, 
the  noble  Confession  is  liable  to  abuse  by  both  adminis- 
5 


66 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


trator  and  subje6l.  The  preacher  is  warned  against  care- 
lessness in  building  upon  this  foundation  wood,  hay,  or 
stubble.*  His  work  shall  pass  the  ordeal  of  fire.  Let 
him  look  well,  then,  to  the  materials  of  his  spiritual  edi- 
fice. As  a  wise  man,  he  will  ascertain  whether  the  candi- 
date understands  the  Confession.  He  has  Philip  for  his 
authority .-j"  An  age  too  tender  to  have  such  understand- 
ing should  be  held  back  till  more  mature.  He  should 
be  persuaded  of  the  sincerity  of  the  offer,  and  of  the  felt 
force  of  a  correct  understanding.  No  man  whose  habits 
render  his  failure  a  certainty,  is  in  that  state  fit  for  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  necessity  of  restraint,  however,  is 
the  exception,  not  the  rule.  The  great  difficulty  is  to  get 
persons  willing  to  serve  Christ.  It  is  believed  that  the 
pradice  recommended  in  this  discourse  is  more  uniformly 
successful,  when  carefully  and  intelligently  guarded,  than 
any  other  in  making  numerous  and  stable  converts.  Dis- 
asters, indeed,  have  occurred  by  the  inconsiderate  zeal  of 
some  impulsive  men,  more  desirous  of  multiplying  tro- 
phies than  of  securing  a  lasting  vid;ory. 

The  want  of  sufficient  pastoral  labor  has  systematic- 
ally invited  apostasy..  Traveling  preachers  should  be  dis- 
suaded from  leaving  bodies  of  new  recruits  in  new  places 
without  regular  drill,  done  by  themselves  or  those  whom 
they  provide. 

The  position  of  the  Confession  in  the  Gospel  economy 
heightens  its  beauty.  It  immediately  precedes  baptism  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  for  the  remission  of  sins  through  his 
precious  blood  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.J  Before 
heaven  and  earth  the  candidate  states  his  faith  in  the  Jesus 


*  I  Cor.  iii:  8-15.  fAfts  viii:  30. 

J  Afts,  ii:  28;  xxii:  16;  viii:  37,  38. 


D.  S.  BURNET. 


67 


of  the  New  Testament,  and  his  desire  to  serve  him  ;  that 
he  is  thus  dead  to  the  world  in  heart,  as  he  is  dead  before 
the  law;  that  he  desires  to  consummate  this  death  in  an 
adual  leaving  of  the  world.  As  we  bury  the  dead,  we 
bury  him.  "As  many  of  you  as  are  baptized  into  Jesus 
Christ  are  baptized  into  his  death;  therefore  we  are  buried 
with  him  by  baptism  into  death,  that  like  as  Christ  was 
raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even 
so  we  should  walk  in  newness  of  life."*  The  confessor 
is  immersed  both  into  the  death  of  Christ,  and  into  his 
own  death  to  the  world.  He  enads,  in  a  living  tableaux, 
an  allegorical  death,  burial,  and  resurreftion.  In  the  light 
of  this  and  similar  passages,  nothing  can  claim  to  be  bap- 
tism that  does  not  fulfill  its  conditions  of  burial  and  rising. 

In  this  discourse,  Ads  viii:  37,  I  believe  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  has  not  been  quoted,  because, 
on  the  authority  of  the  Bagster  Greek  Testament,  Tisch- 
endorf,  Alford,  etc.,  it  is  rejeded.  Yet  the  Bible  Union 
Revision,  Bengal,  Benson,  and  many  others  having  re- 
tained it,  it  is  best  to  consider  its  authenticity  an  open 
question.  If  it  is  genuine,  its  testimony  is  decisive.  If 
it  is  rejeded,  it  is  scarcely  less.  If  it  is  an  interpolation, 
it  is  a  historic  proof  of  the  universality  of  the  pradice  of 
taking  the  good  Confession  from  the  convert.  That  the 
exclusion  of  verse  37  leaves  the  eunuch's  question — 
"What  doth  hinder  me  to  be  baptized?" — unanswered, 
must  forever  stand  a  presumptive  argument  in  favor  of 
the  authenticity  of  that  verse.  The  Bible  is  never  silent 
on  dired  questions  of  that  class. 

VIII.  All  men  will  be  compelled  to  confess  Christ  at 
the  close  of  this  dispensation. 


*  Rom.  vi :  3,  4. 


68 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


As  a  different  Greek  word  is  employed  in  these  words, 
"  Every  tongue  shall  confess  that  Jesus  is  Lord  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father,"  this  acknowledgment  of  all  in 
heaven,  earth,  and  hades  will  not  be  making  the  Good,  the 
Noble  Confession.  Though  indeed  it  shall  be  the  result 
of  convidtion,  and  shall  be  a  voluntary  accord  from  all 
who  have  loved  the  world  too  much  to  love  Christ,  it 
will  be  too  late  for  that  class.  The  nobleness  of  confess- 
ing Christ  as  the  sinner's  friend  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  the  acknowledgment  of  him  as  judge  when  dragged 
before  his  tribunal.  Indeed,  many  in  that  day  shall  call 
upon  overhanging  rocks  and  towering  mountains  to  hide 
them  in  their  opened  graves,  that  they  be  not  dragged 
like  culprits  from  their  cells,  before  the  face  of  God  and 
the  Lamb,  now  become  the  Lion  of  judgment.  To  look 
upon  him  whom  they  have  pierced,  and  gaze  upon  the 
brow  once  lacerated  with  thorns,  but  now  encircled  by 
the  diadem  of  universal  dominion,  were  a  terrible  retribu- 
tion, even  if  there  were  no  lake  of  fire  nor  shoreless  abyss 
below.  Is  it  better,  friendly  alien,  to  receive  an  irrevo- 
cable sentence  on  the  knees  and  confess  the  power  of 
justice  after  a  life's  resistance,  or  to  compound  your  diffi- 
culties in  accepting  the  offered  grace  of  the  inevitable 
conqueror,  by  an  expressive  confession  of  his  well-estab- 
lished claims,  and  a  union  of  your  interests  and  efforts 
with  his  rising  cause?  "Kiss  the  Son  lest  he  be  angry, 
and  ye  perish  from  the  way  when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but 
a  little.  Blessed  are  all  they  who  put  their  trust  in  him  !  " 
Amen. 


*Phil.  ii:  u. 


I 


-JilisbfiES .  Cinciimali.  G 


HENRY  T.  ANDERSON. 


'T'HIS  distinguished  scholar  and  preacher  needs  no  lengthy  intiodudlion 
to  American  readers.    His  Translation  of  the  New  Testament  has 
made  his  name  quite  familiar  in  this  country,  and  he  is  not  altogether  un 
known  in  many  portions  of  Europe. 

Henry  T.  Anderson  was  born  in  Caroline  County,  Virginia,  on  the 
27th  of  January,  1 8 1  z.  His  parents,  who  were  also  natives  of  Virginia, 
were  Baptists,  though  quite  liberal  in  their  views.  Hence,  Brother  An- 
derson's early  religious  training  was  nearly  in  harmony  with  the  position 
he  now  occupies.  The  Bible  was  the  text-book,  and  its  teachings  had  a 
very  powerful  influence  upon  his  youthful  mind. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  made  the  confession,  and  was  immersed 
by  his  elder  brother,  who  had  left  the  Baptists  and  united  with  the  Dis- 
ciples. By  giving  diligent  attention  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  he 
made  such  rapid  progress  in  the  Divine  life  that  he  began  to  preach  in  May, 
1833,  not  more  than  ten  months  after  his  baptism. 

His  method  of  studying  the  Scriptures  was  such  as  left  nothing  unno- 
ticed. The  Bible  was  read  and  re-read  again  and  again.  Every  sentence 
was  studied,  both  in  the  original  and  English,  with  the  most  prayerful  in- 
terest. Scripture  was  used  to  illustrate  and  explain  Scripture,  until  every 
subjeft  in  the  Word  of  God  was  examined  in  the  light  of  Divine  Truth. 
This  method  of  investigation  made  his  preaching  didaftic  rather  than  hor- 
tatory, praftical  rather  than  ornamental.  Hence,  in  the  popular  style,  he 
is  not  an  orator.  Nevertheless,  his  discourses  are  always  highlv  enter- 
taining, because  they  are  full  of  instruftion,and  delivered  in  an  earnest,  im- 
pressive style. 

He  remained  in  Virginia,  preaching  at  various  places  in  Caroline,  Han- 
over, and  some  other  counties,  until  the  year  1837,  when  he  removed  to 
Kentucky,  and  for  several  years  taught  school  and  preached  in  the  south- 
ern portion  of  the  State.  In  November,  1847,  he  took  charge  of  the 
Walnut-street  Church  in  Louisville,  and  continued  there  six  years.  After 
ihis  he  was  engaged  for  about  eight  years  in  teaching  classical  schools,  and 

(69) 


70 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT 


preaching  the  Gospel  in  various  parts  of  the  State.  In  December,  1861, 
he  began  to  translate  the  New  Testament,  a  work  upon  which  his  repu- 
tation chiefly  rests.  For  many  years  he  had  made  the  New  Testament 
original  a  constant  study.  He  had  been  blessed  in  early  life  with  a  fine 
classical  education;  and  such  was  his  devotion  to  the  Greeic,  that,  when 
he  began  to  make  his  translation,  it  was  equally  as  familiar  to  him  as  the 
English.  Of  the  translation  itself  we  need  not  speak,  except  to  say  that 
it  has  been  pronounced  by  competent  judges  the  best  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. Whether  this  be  true  or  not,  it  certainly  has  superior  merits,  and 
will  doubtless  take  a  high  position  among  standard  works  of  its  kind.  He 
is  now  engaged  in  giving  an  exa£l  translation  of  the  text  of  Tischendorf. 
His  present  home  is  in  Harrodsburg,  Ky.,  where  he  has  preached  for  the 
Church  for  several  years. 

His  prominent  charafteristics  are  originality  of  thought,  simplicity  of 
manner,  and  great  faith  in  the  providence  of  God.  He  is  emphatically  a 
thinker,  and  every  thing  that  he  says  gives  unmistakable  evidence  that  he 
is  not  satisfied  to  simply  appropriate  the  labor  of  others.  He  seeks  the 
foundation  of  things,  and  though  his  views  may  not  always  be  correft, 
they  are  always  highly  suggestive. 

His  whole  nature  is  childlike.  The  most  perfedl  simplicity  marks 
every  thing  he  does.  His  purposes  are  as  transparent  as  light  itself.  No 
one  could  be  freer  from  afFeftation.  But  that  which  distinguishes  him 
above  every  thing  else  is  his  wonderful  faith  in  God.  We  do  not  think 
we  have  ever  known  a  man  who  gives  himself  more  unreservedly  into  the 
hands  of  his  Heavenly  Father.  In  this  world's  goods  he  has  been  poor 
all  his  life,  but  he  has  certainly  been  rich  in  faith.  The  circumstances 
under  which  he  began  his  translation  afford  a  fine  illustration  of  this  pe- 
culiarity. Having  a  large'  family  to  support,  with  a  salary  not  exceeding 
six  hundred  dollars,  and  no  other  means  that  he  could  command,  there 
was  little  prospeft  that  he  could  do  any  thing  beyond  supplying  the  neces- 
sities of  the  hour.  But  he  had  faith  in  God,  and  entered  upon  the  work 
with  full  confidence  that  the  "Lord  would  provide."  In  speaking  of 
this  subjeft,  in  1863,  he  says:  "The  Lord  raised  me  up  friends.  Some 
from  a  distance  sent  me  a  few  dollars.  Two  worthy  sisters  paid  one 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars  each  last  year.  Those  near  me  have,  some 
of  them,  remembered  my  wants,  and  generously  supplied  me  with  food 
and  clothing.  Though  the  war  swept  away  what  little  I  had,  God  has 
never  forsaken  me.  I  have  a  Father  in  heaven,  a  Redeemer  at  his  right 
hand.  My  prayers  have  been  heard.  Friends  are  near  me,  and  I  live,  a 
monument  of  the  truth  that  God  will  not  forsake  those  who  put  their 
trust  in  him." 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  IS  THE 
THEANTHROPOS. 


BY  H.  T.  ANDERSON. 


♦•And  thou  shall  call  his  name  Jesus:  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from 
iheir  sins." — Matt,  i:  21. 

WHAT  think  you  of  the  Christ.?  whose  son  is  he? 
The  Jews  answered:  The  son  of  David.  Jesus 
replied:  How,  then,  does  David  in  spirit  call  him  Lord, 
saying,  Jehovah  said  to  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at  my  right 
hand,  till  I  put  thy  enemies  under  thy  feet?  The  Scrip- 
ture makes  it  evident  that  the  Christ  is  the  son  of  David. 
The  answer  to  the  question,  that  he  is  David's  son,  was 
and  is  correct.  But  this  first  question  led  to  the  second, 
to. which  the  Jews  gave  no  answer.  The  son  of  David, 
according  to  Scripture,  should  sit  at  the  right  hand  of 
Jehovah  till  his  enemies  were  put  beneath  his  feet. 

We  are  to  suppose  that  the  Jews  either  would  answer 
this  second  question,  and  could  not,  or  that  they  could, 
and  would  not.  .  The  Scriptures  furnished  the  answer. 
The  writer,  Matthew,  says:  "No  one  was  able  to  answer 
him  a  word."  This  inability  of  theirs  did  not  proceed 
from  ignorance;  for  the  Scripture  had  said  that  David's 
son  should  be  the  Son  of  God:  "I  will  be  to  him  a 
father,  and  he  shall  be  to  me  a  son."    The  Christ,  as  Son 

(70 


72 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  God,  would  have  a  right  to  sit  at  the  right  hand  of 
Jehovah.  It  is  probable  that  the  Jews  understood  this, 
and  their  inability  to  answer  the  question  arose,  not  from 
ignorance,  but  from  a  consciousness  that  an  answer  would 
have  entangled  them  in  a  snare  from  which  they  would 
not  have  been  able  to  escape. 

Jesus  is  the  son  of  David,  and  Son  of  God.  As  such 
he  is  son  of  two  kings — one,  the  king  of  earth;  the  other, 
king  of  the  heavens.  The  Scripture  had  made  many 
promises  to  David  and  to  David's  son.  His  throne  and 
his  kingdom  were  to  be  of  endless  duration.  To  the  Jews 
there  was  something  fearful  in  the  answer  to  this  second 
question.  Jesus  had  been  called  the  son  of  David,  and 
while  they  were  willing  to  acknowledge  that  the  Christ 
was  the  son  of  David,  they  were  not  willing  to  answer  a 
question  which  they  saw  would  lead  to  an  acknowledge- 
ment that  Jesus  the  Nazarene  was  that  person,  who 
should  possess  endless  as  well  as  universal  dominion. 

The  words  "Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  till  I  put  thy 
enemies  under  thy  feet,"  involve  the  overthrow  of  all 
who  are  not  friends  of  Jesus.  Hence  an  answer  to  the 
question,  "What  think  you  of  the  Christ?"  involves  the 
eternal  destiny  of  every  man.  If  the  question  be  an- 
swered as  Scripture  requires,  and  become,  when  answered, 
the  guide  of  life,  then  it  is  well  for  him  that  answers  it. 
But  if  an  answer  be  given  which  Scripture  does  not  jus- 
tify, and  the  answer  become  the  guide  of  life,  then  the 
answerer  becomes  the  enemy  who  shall  be  put  beneath  the 
feet  of  the  Christ. 

It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  men  surround  them- 
selves with  necessity  which  leads  them  to  perdition. 
Jesus,  on  another  occasion,  put  a  question  to  the  Jews 
which  they  could  not  answer:  "The  immersion  of  John, 


H.  T.  ANDERSON. 


■'3 


whence  was  it  ?  from  heaven  or  from  men  ?  But  they 
reasoned  among  themselves,  and  said,  If  we  reply,  From 
heaven,  he  will  say  to  us,  Why,  then,  did  you  not  believe 
him  ?  But  if  we  reply.  From  men,  we  fear  the  multi- 
tude; for  all  regard  John  as  a  prophet.  And  they  an- 
swered and  said  to  Jesus,  We  know  not." 

How  easy  for  men  to  involve  themselves  in  such  a  ne- 
cessity. We  set  up  our  gods  in  our  own  hearts ;  we 
determine  to  worship  them  ;  we  see  that  an  answer  to 
certain  questions  will  involve  us  in  inconsistency;  we  can 
not  endure  to  contradift  our  own  theories,  and  for  fear 
of  the  reproach  that  others  may  cast  against  us,  we  deter- 
mine to  follow  our  delusions,  and  perish  in  them.  Each 
man  that  holds  an  error  ties  a  millstone  about  his  neck, 
that  will  drown  him  in  the  depths  of  the  sea.  Men's 
opinions  are  the  millstones  that  they  fondly  tie  about 
their  necks;  and  these  opinions  are  the  cause  of  their 
ruin.  The  traditions  of  the  Jews,  their  fondness  for 
their  rites,  their  love  of  the  favor  of  men  proved  their  de- 
strudion. 

There  are  many  Christs.  As  many  as  are  the  opinions 
of  men,  so  many  Christs  are  there.  But  there  is  but  one 
Christ — the  Christ  of  history.  He  it  is  of  whom  Moses 
in  the  law  and  the  prophets  did  write.  He  it  is  who  is 
written  of  by  the  holy  apostles.  He,  and  he  alone,  is  the 
Christ.  Jesus  the  Nazarene,  the  son  of  the  virgin,  is  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  Whatever  has  been 
written  of  him  must  be  received  as  true.  Our  reason, 
our  intelledual  nature,  our  spirit,  our  mind^  whatever  is 
within  us,  require  of  us  to  accept  as  true  the  testimonies 
which  have  been  preserved  to  us  from  the  days  of  the 
apostles.  I  desire  life.  Jesus  gives  eternal  life.  I  die. 
Jesus  will  destroy  death.    I  am  a  sinner.    Jesus  died  for 


74 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


our  sins.  I  wish  to  be  just  before  God.  Jesus  rose  again 
for  our  justification.  There  is  not  a  wish  in  my  whole 
nature  which  is  not  fully  satisfied  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
To  the  testimonies,  then,  concerning  Him.  What  say 
they  ? 

Let  us  ignore  all  creeds  and  formulas  of  faith  as  made 
and  published  by  men.    Rise  we,  at  once,  to  the  pure 
fountain  of  eternal  truth.    "Behold,  a  virgin  shall  be 
with  child,  and  shall  bear  a  son,  and  they  shall  call  his 
name  Immanuel,  which,  when  translated,  is,  God  with  us." 
This  is  Matthew's  thesis.    His  testimony  sustains  his 
thesis.    Note  well  his  words.    Immanuel  is  God  with  us. 
That  being  conceived  by  the  virgin  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 
God  with  us.    Here  let  skepticism  lay  her  hand  on  her 
mouth,  and  dare  not  utter  one  word  of  dissent.   Was  de- 
ceit found  in  Jesus's  mouth  ?    Did  Herod  find  in  him  any 
thing  worthy  of  death?    Did  the  Jews  find  any  witness 
that  could  testify  to  aught  that  he  did  amiss  ?    For  what 
crime  did  he  suflfer  death  ?    Was  it  a  crime  to  acknowledge 
himself  the  Son  of  God?    For  this  he  suffered,  not  for 
aught  that  he  had  done  amiss.    Then  there  was  in  him 
no  sin.    Judas,  who  betrayed  him,  testified  to  his  inno- 
cence.   He  was  in  life  pure  and  spotless.    Surely,  then, 
he  is  God  with  us.    Though  in  flesh,  he  was  not  of  flesh. 
Though  in  form  as  man,  he  was  not  of  man.    Hence  his 
sinlessness.    Being  sinless,  he  is  God  with  us. 
'  Let  this  be  our  first  proof  of  the  true  Godhead  of 
Jesus.    The  manner  and  the  matter  of  his  speech  shall 
be  our  second  proof.    "You  have  heard  that  it  was  said 
to  the  ancients,  You  shall  not  kill;  and  whoever  shall 
kill,  shall  be  liable,  to  the  sentence  of  the  judges.    But  I 
say  to  you.  Whoever  is  angry  with  his  brother,  shall  be 
liable  to  the  sentence  of  the  judges." 


H.  T.  ANDERSON. 


75 


The  words,  "I  say  to  you,"  so  often  repeated  in  this 
discourse,  exhibit  a  consciousness  of  authority  to  make 
law  which  no  other  human  being  ever  possessed.  Indeed, 
the  multitudes  felt  this  peculiarity  of  manner,  for  they 
were  astonished  at  his  teaching;  for  he  taught  as  having 
authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes. 

Hear  him  again:  "I  am  the  light  of  the  world;  he 
that  follows  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have 
the  light  of  life,"  And  again :  "  For  the  Father  judges  no 
one,  but  has  given  all  judicial  authority  to  the  Son;  that 
all  may  honor  the  Son,  as  they  honor  the  Father."  Lan- 
guage such  as  this  needs  no  comment.  It  is  the  utter- 
ance of  one  who  knows  what  he  says,  conscious  of  what 
he  is. 

When  he  had  risen  from  the  dead,  he  gave  to  his  apos- 
tles the  last  commission  in  these  words:  "Go,  therefore, 
make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  immersing  them  into 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit."  This  commission  is  based  on  a  fa6l  stated  in 
the  preceding  words:  "All  authority  in  heaven  and  on 
earth  is  given  to  me."  Note  well  the  words  "All  au- 
thority." We  can  conceive  of  authority  legislative,  au- 
thority judicial,  authority  executive,  no  more.  In  his 
person  is  centered  all  this.  What,  then,  is  the  argument 
to  be  drawn  from  this?  Evidently  that  he  is  God;  for 
none  other  than  God  can  make  law  for  all  in  heaven  and 
on  earth;  none  other  than  one  possessed  of  all  knowledge 
and  wisdom  can  judge  all;  and  none  other  than  God  can 
execute  the  laws  after  judgment  has  been  given.  Look 
through  the  vast  array  of  beings  intelledlual  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.  For  all  these  law  must  be  made.  To  their 
condition  the  laws  must  be  adapted.  In  judging  them, 
mercy  and  justice  must  combine.    Their  varied  condi- 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


tions,  the  unnumbered  circumstances  that  govern  their 
aftions,  must  all  be  considered.  Who  is  sufficient  for 
this  but  one  who  has  all  knowledge,  and  all  wisdom,  and 
all  justice?" 

"The  Father  judges  no  one."  Well  may  we  rejoice 
in  this  saying.  One  will  judge  who  has  been  in  the  flesh, 
tempted  in  all  points  as  we  are ;  consequently,  knowing, 
from  his  own  experience,  what  it  is  to  be  in  the  flesh, 
what  it  is  to  be  tried,  and,  therefore,  knowing  how  to 
judge  of  the  adions  of  men. 

Between  man  and  the  Infinite  One  called  the  Father 
there  was  a  gulf  of  infinite  breadth  and  depth.  Look 
abroad  to  the  heavens;  behold  their  immeasurable  vast- 
ness!  How  could  man  approach,  come  near  to,  such  a 
being?  We  feel  overwhelmed  by  the  unsearchable  great- 
ness of  God.  But  turn,  now,  and  look  at  Jesus.  He 
is  Immanuel,  God  with  us.  In  him  God  comes  near  us; 
God  ceases  to  be  at  an  immeasurable  distance.  The  in- 
comprehensible grandeur  and  unsearchable  greatness  of 
God,  now  clad  in  flesh,  are  not  such  as  to  overawe  our 
souls,  and  make  us  shrink  within  ourselves,  terrified, 
alarmed,  and  awe-struck.  No;  through  Jesus  we  draw 
nearer  to  God,  for  he  has  come  very  near  to  us.  That 
measureless  gulf  has  been  filled  with  the  presence  of  Im- 
manuel, God  with  us.  He  is  our  lawgiver  and  our 
judge.  In  him  dwells  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily.  Yet  he  is  the  Man  Christ  Jesus.  Dear  to  every 
Christian  is  the  truth  that  such  a  one  has  all  judicial  au- 
thority committed  to  him. 

The  Apostle  Paul  tells  us  that  Jesus  is  the  heir  of  all 
things.  If  he  is  the  heir  of  all  things,  then  he  has  the 
knowledge  of  all  things,  and  the  wisdom  with  wnich  to 
govern  all  things.    What  man  would  give  to  a  son  an 


H.  T.  ANDERSON. 


77 


estate,  knowing  that  he  had  not  understanding  sufficient 
to  enable  him  to  manage  it  with  prudence?  The  wisdom 
of  the  heir  of  all  things  should  be  such  as  to  enable  him 
to  control  all  things.  Who,  then,  but  God  can  know  all 
things,  manage  all  things,  and  control  all  things,  so  as  to 
cause  them  to  work  together  for  good  for  those  who  love 
him?  Messiah  is  God  over  all  things,  forever  blessed. 
We  are  also  told  that  he  is  head  over  all  things  to  the 
Church. 

There  is  good  reason  why  he  is  the  heir  of  all  things 
He  created  all  things.  Let  us  hear  an  apostle:  "For 
by  him  were  all  things  created,  things  in  heaven  and 
things  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  thrones,  or 
lordships,  or  principalities,  or  authorities ;  all  things  have 
been  created  by  him,  and  for  him:  and  he  is  before  all 
things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist."  Note  well  this 
language.  He  is  before  all  things,  and  by  him  all  things 
consist.  Evident,  then,  is  it  that  he  who  was  before  all 
things,  and  by  whom  all  things  consist,  is  not  a  creation. 
And,  further,  he  who  created  all  things  has  a  right  to  all 
things,  and  is,  consequently,  the  heir  of  all  things. 

But  there  is  another  argument  connefted  with  this. 
The  apostle  adds:  "For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  all  his 
fullness  should  dwell  in  him."  If,  then,  all  the  fullness 
of  the  Father  dwells  in  him,  how  can  he  be  not  equal  to 
the  Father?  He  did  not  think  it  an  ad  of  robbery  to 
be  equal  with  God.  The  Jews  understood  that  the  Son 
of  God  was  equal  with  God.  The  Apostle  John  tells 
us  that  the  Jews  sought  the  more  to  kill  him  because  he 
had  not  only  broken  the  Sabbath,  but  also  said  that  God 
was  his  own  Father,  making  himself  equal  with  God. 

It  is  argued,  however,  that  he  himself  says,  "My 
Father  is  greater  than  I."    Yes,  and  it  is  true,  too,  that 


78 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


he  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels.  There  is  a 
vast  difference,  between  the  nature  of  a  being  and  the  po- 
sition of  a  being.  As  a  Son,  he  was  less  than  the  Father. 
But  when  did  he  become  a  Son?  When  he  was  born  of 
the  virgin.  As  a  man  on  earth,  he  was  less  than  the 
Father.  As  such,  made  subjed  to  death,  he  was  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels.  The  relation  of  son  to  a  father 
supposes  the  one  greater  than  the  other ;  but  let  the  re- 
lation be  no  loriger  considered,  and  the  one  is  equal  with 
the  other.  Whatever  the  father  is,  the  son  is.  Is  David 
the  father  of  the  Christ  ?  Then  the  Christ  is  flesh.  Flesh 
is  equal  to  flesh.  Flesh  can  not  be  less  than  flesh.  So 
the  Christ,  being  the  Son  of  God,  is  equal  to  God.  God 
can  not  be  less  than  God.  In  other  words,  the  divine 
nature  can  not  be  less  than  the  divine  nature.  The  to 
dscou  is  the  to  decov.  dsovfjz  is  deoTr]z.  It  can  not  be  less. 
The  Christ  is  Theanthropos,  God-Man.  As  God,  he  is 
fully  so;  as  man,  he  is  fully  so.  In  the  Christ  dwells  all 
the  fullness  of  the  Godhead,  Qzovqz^  bodily.  It  is  evident 
that  the  less  can  not  contain  the  greater.  But  the  Christ 
has  all  the  fullness  of  the  Qzot-qq  in  himself.  Hence,  apo- 
didlically,  equal  to  God. 

The  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  in  his  letter  to  the  Romans, 
says  of  the  Christ,  that  he  was  made  or  born  of  the  pos- 
terity of  David,  according  to  the  flesh,  but  declared  to  be 
the  Son  of  God  with  power,  according  to  his  holy  spiritual 
nature,  by  his  resurredlion  from  the  dead.  The  learned 
may  differ  somewhat  in  their  understanding  of  this  pas- 
sage. But  one  thing  is  evident  and  beyond  dispute,  that 
there  is  a  contrast — his  sonship  according  to  the  flesh,  and 
his  sonship  according  to  the  opposite  nature.  As  the  son 
of  David,  he  was  flesh,  and  consequently  weak;  as  Son 
of  God,  he  was  possessed  of  a  holy  spiritual  nature,  and 


H.  T.  ANDERSON, 


79 


consequently  had  d^uvaijuc:,  power.  To  this  state  of  weak- 
ness he  refers  when  he  says,  My  Father  is  greater 
than  I." 

I  will  not  here  press  into  service  that  passage  found  in 
I  Tim.  iii:  i6,  because  I  am  satisfied  that  the  reading  in 
the  common  Greek  text  can  not  be  supported.  Instead 
of  reading,  "God  was  manifested  in  flesh,"  I  shall  read, 
according  to  Tischendorf,  "  He  who  was  manifested  in 
flesh,  was  justified  in  spirit,  seen  by  angels,"  etc.  It  is  a 
question,  then,  well  to  be  considered.  Who  is  he  that  was 
manifested  in  flesh?  When  this  question  is  duly  consid- 
ered, we  shall  arrive  at  a  conclusion  as  safe  as  though  we 
should  retain  the  common  reading.  It  is  evident  that 
some  one  was  manifested  in  flesh.  He  who  was  mani- 
fested in  flesh  was  more  than  flesh. 

The  apostle  John  will  give  us  an  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion. Who  was  this?  "And  the  Word  became  flesh, 
and  tabernacled  among  us,  (and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the 
glory  as  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,)  full  of  grace 
and  of  truth."  The  Word,  Logos,  Wisdom,  was  made 
flesh,  and  hence  manifested  in  flesh.  It  is  worthy  of  re- 
mark that  Jesus,  on  two  occasions,  uses  the  term  Wis- 
dom when  speaking  of  himself.  "For  this  reason  also 
the  Wisdom  of  God  said,"  (Luke  xi:  49.)  "For  this 
reason,  behold,  I  send  you  prophets,"  etc.,  (Matt,  xxiii: 
34.)  "Yet  Wisdom  is  justified  by  her  children,"  (Matt, 
xi :  19.)  In  these  places  the  term  Wisdom  seems  to  stand 
for  the  Messiah.  Of  the  first  quoted,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  for  in  the  parallel  place  in  Matthew  we  find  him 
using  the  pronoun  I.  That  which  is  by  him  called  Wis- 
dom is  by  John  called  The  Logos,  the  Word.  Let  us 
approach  the  first  of  John,  and  weigh  the  contents  of  his 
first  verse. 


8o 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God." 

This  beginning  can  be  no  other  than  that  mentioned  by 
Moses;  "In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth;"  for  the  apostle  goes  further,  and  says,  "He 
was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All  things  were  made 
by  him,  and  without  him  not  one  thing  was  made  that 
exists."  Let  the  reader  compare  Prov.  viii,  in  which 
Wisdom  is  represented  as  being  with  God  in  the  begin- 
ning. 

Let  it  be  well  noted  that  creation  is  attributed  to  the 
Logos  or  Word:  "  By  him  all  things  were  made."  "  He 
was  in  the  beginning  with  God."  "  The  Word  was  God." 
I  will  not  permit  myself  to  attempt  to  explain  what  hu- 
man language  can  not  explain.  I  call  attention  to  the 
fads  stated.  That  being,  who  is  here  called  the  Logos, 
was  with  God,  and  aftive  in  creation.  Jesus,  in  his  prayer 
recorded  by  this  apostle,  says:  "Glorify  me  with  thyself 
with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world 
was."  He  did  exist,  then,  before  the  world  existed.  He 
began  the  creation.  He  was  before  all  things.  He  is 
not,  then,  as  the  Nicene  Creed  says,  "God  of  God,"  but 
he  was  God.  In  the  simplest,  broadest,  only  sense,  he 
is  God ;  for  to  him  is  creation  attributed.  No  one  can 
create  but  God. 

Here  we  might  make  an  end  of  our  argument;  but  as 
the  testimony  is  not  exhausted,  let  the  argument  be  con- 
tinued. The  Apostle  Paul  applies  the  following  words, 
quoted  from  Psalm  102,  to  the  Messiah:  "And  thou, 
Lord,  in  the  beginning  didst  lay  the  foundation  of  the 
earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thy  hands.  They 
shall  perish,  but  thou  remainest:  and  they  all  shall  grow 
old  as  a  garment;  and  as  a  mantle  thou  shalt  fold  them 


H.  T.  ANDERSON. 


8l 


up,  and  they  shall  be  changed;  but  thou  art  the  same,  and 
thy  years  shall  not  fail." 

In  Micah,  v:  2,  we  find  the  birth  of  Jesus  foretold: 
"  But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  be  small 
among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  out  of  thee  shall  he  come 
forth  to  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel;  whose  goings 
forth  have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting." 

Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem.  Yet  his  goings  forth 
had  been  from  old,  from  everlasting.  Does  this  language 
require  comment?  Can  it  be  made  more  full,  more  com- 
prehensive, by  aught  that  we  can  say?  Let  it  stand  as 
found  in  the  holy  Scripture,  fully  testifying  to  the  eternal 
duration  of  that  being  who  was  once  in  flesh.  We  have 
made  it  evident  from  Scripture  that  Jesus  is  the  Thean- 
thropos — the  God-Man.  We  have  given  answer  to  this 
question.  What  think  you  of  the  Christ?  Be  it  known 
that  this  is  our  answer,  that  this  is  what  we  have  to  say 
of  the  Christ.  Ignoring  all  creeds  and  confessions  of 
faith  as  made  by  men,  we  come  to  the  oracles  of  the  living 
God,  and  decide  this  question  on  which  hangs  the  destiny 
of  the  human  race.  Jesus  the  Nazarene  is  Immanuel, 
God  with  us;  in  the  true  sense,  God;  and  in  the  true 
sense,  Man. 

He  must  have  been  such  as  we  have  found  him  de- 
scribed in  Scripture,  otherwise  he  could  not  be  a  Savior. 
He  came  to  save  man  from  sin,  and  he  must  meet  and 
overpower  all  the  adversaries  of  man,  Satan  is  the  prince 
of  the  hosts  of  darkness,  the  author  of  all  evil,  the  mur- 
derer of  the  family  of  Adam.  Jesus  must  meet  him  and 
subdue  him,  Jesus  is  the  head  over  all  the  hosts  of  light, 
direfting  them  by  his  wisdom  in  his  great  conflidt  with  the 
powers  of  darkness.  It  requires  infinite  wisdom  so  to 
control  these  powers  of  light  as  to  finally  gain  the  vidory 
6 


82 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


over  the  enemies  of  God  and  of  man.  Behold,  then,  one 
who  wears  our  nature,  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
throne  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  clothed  with  all  authority 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  this  for  the  purpose  of  bring- 
ing honor  and  glory  to  the  sons  of  God.  As  man,  he 
sympathizes  with  us  in  all  our  sufferings,  feels  our  sor- 
rows, intercedes  for  us ;  as  God,  he  will  put  under  his  feet 
every  enemy  that  stands  opposed  to  our  honor,  our  glory, 
our  life,  and  our  incorruptibility.  What,  then,  shall  we 
say  of  him  in  conclusion  ? 

We  will  say  that  which  God  has  said:  "Let  all  the  an- 
gels of  God  worship  him."  He  whom  all  the  angels  of 
God  worship,  is  worthy  of  the  worship  of  all  the  sons  of 
men.  "And  I  saw,  and  heard  the  voice  of  many  angels 
round  about  the  throne,  and  the  living  creatures  and  the 
elders;  and  the  number  of  them  was  myriads  of  myriads, 
and  thousands  of  thousands.  And  they  said,  with  a  loud 
voice:  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive 
power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor, 
and  glory,  and  blessing.  And  every  creature  that  is  in 
heaven,  and  on  earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are 
in  the  sea,  even  all  that  are  in  them,  I  heard  saying:  To 
him  that  sits  on  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  be  blessing, 
and  honor,  and  glory,  and  strength,  from  age  to  age." 

What  argument  shall  we  draw  from  universal  worship? 
All  the  angels  of  God,  and  all  created  beings  unite  in 
giving  to  Jesus  the  Nazarene  the  homage  of  their  hearts. 
In  the  midst  of  this  universal  homage,  can  there  be  found 
a  mortal,  a  being  who  calls  himself  a  man,  that  refuses 
that  honor  and  glory  and  blessing  which  are  due  to  the 
Lamb?  If  there  is  one,  then  all  the  angels  of  God  will 
unite  in  saying.  Let  such  a  one  be  put  among  the  enemies 
of  Jesus  beneath  his  feet. 


H.  T.  ANDERSON. 


83 


"  Behold,  he  comes  with  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall 
see  him,  and  those  also  who  pierced  him."  He  comes 
again,  even  as  he  ascended  into  heaven.  He  was  despised 
and  rejeded  by  men;  he  was  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  ac- 
qi  ainted  with  grief.  Yet  he  comes  to  be  glorified  on 
earth.  A  kingdom  is  in  reservation  for  him,  that  all  peo- 
ples, nations,  and  languages  may  serve  him.  He  comes 
as  the  Son  of  Man,  to  visit  the  sons  of  men,  to  give  re- 
ward to  all  that  have  faithfully  served  him.  To  those 
who  look  for  him  he  will  appear  the  second  time,  without 
a  sin-offering,  for  salvation.  But  to  those  who  have  cor- 
rupted his  holy  religion,  who  have  disregarded  his  saints, 
who  have  despised  his  little  ones,  he  will  appear  in  flam- 
ing fire  for  destrudion.  He  will  come  in  the  glory  of 
his  Father  and  of  the  holy  angels,  and  he  will  reward 
every  one  as  his  work  shall  be. 

Blessed  Redeemer,  come  quickly.  Thy  saints  are 
weary,  they  mourn  thy  absence,  they  long  for  thy  com- 
ing.   Again  we  say.  Blessed  Redeemer,  come  quickly. 


i 

1 


i 


i 


I 

i 


i 
1 


THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


'TpHIS  earnest,  energetic,  and  successful  preacher  of  the  Gospel  is  a 
native  of  Ohio  County,  West  Virginia,  and  was  born  February  8, 
1823.  He  remained  at  home  with  his  parents  until  he  entered  Beth- 
any College,  where  he  graduated,  in  1850,  as  one  of  the  "Honor  men" 
of  his  class.  While  at  college  he  was  distinguished  for  high  intelledlual 
and  moral  qualities,  and,  during  the  last  session  he  remained  there,  began 
to  exercise  his  gifts  in  preaching  the  Gospel.  After  graduating,  he  en- 
tered at  once  aftively  on  the  work  of  preaching  and  teaching.  Seven 
years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  this  double  employment,  the  greatee-  por- 
tion of  the  time,  filling  the  chair  of  Ancient  Languages  and  Literature  in 
the  Western  Reserve  Ecleftic  Institute,  located  at  Hiram,  Portage  County, 
Ohio.  While  holding  this  position  he  gave  abundant  evidence  of  fine 
executive  talent,  as  well  as  that  energy  and  persistence  for  which  he  has 
always  been  distinguished.  It  was  largely  through  his  instrumentality  that 
the  institution  in  which  he  labored  was  placed  on  the  road  to  success;  and 
whatever  prosperity  has  attended  its  subsequent  career  is  owing,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  his  efforts  to  give  it  a  consistent  and  permanent  organization 
while  he  was  one  of  its  professors.  Since  leaving  Hiram  he  has  been 
offered  several  times  the  Presidency  of  the  Institute,  but  has  never  felt  it 
his  duty  to  accept. 

In  addition  to  his  experience  as  a  teacher  at  Hiram,  he  has,  at  different 
times,  been  Principal  of  flourishing  academies  at  Williamsburg,  N.  Y.,  Mt. 
Sterling,  Ky.,  and  New  Castle,  Ky.  At  all  these  points  he  gave  evidence 
that  he  possessed  superior  qualifications  to  impart  knowledge  to  the  youth- 
ful mind,  and  a  proper  moral  direftion  to  the  youthful  heart. 

In  1857,  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  pastor  of  the  Christian  Church 
corner  of  Eighth  and  Walnut  streets,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  His  labors  in 
this  church  were  constant  and  arduous.  Visiting  from  house  to  house, 
and  especially  among  the  poor  of  the  congregation,  was  an  every-day  duty. 
The  strong  were  made  stronger,  the  w  avering  confirmed,  the  indifferent 

C8S) 


86 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


warned,  the  prodigals  persuaded  to  return  to  their  Father's  house,  while  a 
general  interest  was  created  in  the  Sunday-school,  prayer-meeting,  and  all 
the  other  agencies  of  the  Church.  Such  labors,  as  they  deserved  to  be, 
were  greatly  blessed.  The  spiritual  strength  of  the  Church  was  largely 
increased.  Christian  sympathies  and  aftivities  developed,  while  the  Lord 
added  many  converts  from  the  world  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

In  i860,  he  removed  to  Mt.  Sterling,  Ky.,  where  he  divided  his  labors 
between  the  Church  and  an  Academy  until  the  war  compelled  him  to  dis- 
continue the  latter.  He  was  with  the  brethren  there  during  their  severest 
trials,  and  did  much,  by  his  prudent  counsels,  prayerful  labors,  and  con- 
stant watchfulness,  to  save  the  Church  from  division,  and  the  cause  from 
utter  ruin. 

For  the  last  four  years  his  time  has  been  chiefly  occupied  as  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  of  the  Kentucky  Missionary  Society,  and  his  success  in  this 
department  of  labor  has  proved  him  to  be  the  "right  man  in  the  right 
place."    His  present  home  is  Mt.  Sterling,  Ky. 

Brother  Munnell  is  five  feet  nine  inches  and  a  half  high,  weighs  about 
one  hundred  and  forty  pounds,  has  a  tough,  bony  frame,  high,  proje6ting 
forehead,  dark-brown  hair  and  beard,  with  a  sharp,  black  eye,  that  always 
looks  you  straight  in  the  face.  His  whole  organization  is  indicative  of  a 
charafter  distinguished  for  great  mental  and  physical  adlivity  ;  such  a  char- 
after  as  is  capable  of  a  large  amount  of  good,  honest  work. 

His  preaching  is  chiefly  praftical,  and  always  instruftive  and  entertain- 
ing, though  not  remarkable  for  logical  arrangement,  rhetorical  finish,  or 
oratorical  display.  He  is  a  much  better  writer  than  speaker.  He  is  very 
fond  of  discussion,  and,  with  the  pen,  is  a  formidable  opponent,  as  any 
knight  of  the  quill  may  learn  by  attempting  to  cross  his  plans.  Notwith- 
standing this,  he  is  kind  in  the  social  circle,  and  has,  in  a  remarkable  de- 
gree, the  power  of  attrafting  all  classes  of  society  to  him. 


ATONEMENT. 


BY  THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


"  But  God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that  while  we  were 
yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us." — Rom.  v  :  8. 

IN  approaching  the  philosophy  of  reconciliation  to 
God,  involving  the  profoundest  principles  of  moral 
government,  no  humble  minister  will  feel  very  confident 
of  his  ability  to  equal  the  lofty  theme.  It  is  said  that 
Handel,  when  composing  his  oratorio  of  "Creation,"  al- 
ways went  to  the  piano  with  the  prayer  "  that  he  might 
praise  God  worthily;"  and  the  anxious  inquiry  of  every 
proclaimer  of  the  love  of  Jesus  is, 

"How  shall  I  my  Savior  set  forth? 
How  shall  I  his  beauties  declare? 
Oh !  how  shall  I  speak  of  his  worth. 
Or  what  his  chief  dignities  are?" 

If  there  be  such  a  science  as  moral  philosophy,  its  length 
and  breadth,  and  depth  and  height,  are  all  involved  in  the 
Cross  of  Jesus  Christ.  Believing  that  its  principles  are 
as  fixed  and  indestrudible  as  those  of  natural  philosophy 
or  chemistry,  I  propose  to  show,  from  evidences  wholly 
undeniable,  that  the  Cross  was  not  an  arbitrary,  but  a  nec- 
essary, antecedent  to  the  pardon  of  our  sins.    It  must 

(87) 


88 


THE  LINING  PULPIT. 


be  remembered,  however,  that  no  analogies,  drawn  from 
governments  as  developed  among  men,  should  be  re- 
quired, in  all  respefts,  to  illustrate  the  dodrine  of  Atone- 
ment. Notwithstanding  this,  the  purpose  is  to  make  our 
way  through  the  thickest  of  the  difficulties  inherent  in  this 
deepest  of  all  theological  subjeds,  and  to  show  that,  con- 
trary to  all  skeptical  dedudions  from  inadequate  prem- 
ises, it  is  consonant  with  all  other  truths  well  recognized 
in  the  governments  of  men  ;  and  as  the  necessities  that 
impelled  the  death  of  Christ  were  of  a  governmental  char- 
ader,  we  must,  first  of  all,  look  into  the  very  foundation 
of  government  itself,  as  developed  in  the  several  sedions 
that  follow. 

I.  Most  men  will  admit,  without  argument,  that,  when 
God  made  man,  it  was  necessary  to  place  his  moral  as  well 
as  his  physical  nature  under  law ;  that,  just  as  a  child  is 
unequal  to  all  his  future  relations,  is  unable  to  projed 
that  course  of  life  that  will  be  best  for  him  in  old  age, 
to  have  pursued  in  youth,  and,  therefore,  needs  the  wis- 
dom and  guiding  counsels  of  parents,  so  man,  being  also 
of  himself  unequal  to  all  his  future  interests,  and  in  this 
life  unable  to  projed  a  course  that  would  prove,  a  mill- 
ion years  to  come,  to  have  been  the  best,  surely  needs 
the  law  of  wisdom  from  the  heavenly  Father  to  guide 
him  as  a  frail  child  through  a  perilous  future  wholly  un- 
known to  him.  This  principle,  by  following  out  one  of 
the  plainest  analogies  suggested  in  common  life,  plainly 
says  that  man  needs,  and  must  have,  a  law  to  keep  him 
from  evil. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  a  written  moral  law  was 
necessitated  by  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  constitu- 
tions given  us  by  our  Creator — was  anticipated  by  these. 
The  fad  that  our  bodies  may  be  injured  by  gluttony  de- 


THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


89 


mands  a  law  forbidding  gluttony,  to  shield  us  from  the 
punishment  inherent  in  that  sin.  Would  it  not  be  un- 
kind in  the  Lord  to  form  our  bodies  so  that  they  inevita- 
bly would  be  injured  by  debauchery,  and  yet  utter  no 
word  of  warning  against  it?  Again:  our  moral  constitu- 
tions are  so  construded  that  falsehood,  dishonesty,  and 
all  impurity  of  heart  are  damaging  to  the  soul;  and  as  the 
simple  child  of  nature  does  not  know  of  these  results  ex- 
cept by  a  terrible  experience,  it  was  both  wise  and  merci- 
ful in  the  Almighty  to  issue  a  law,  saying,  "Thou  shalt," 
and  "Thou  shalt  not."  The  presence  of  the  Bible  in  the 
world  does  not  create  the  penalty  of  sin;  it  only  foretells 
the  natural  results  of  sin,  and  shows  the  way  of  escape. 
Strong  drink  would  ruin  the  body  just  the  same  as  if  there 
was  no  law  in  the  Bible  against  it.  The  penalty  is  inher- 
ent in  the  sin  itself;  and  not  in  any  arbitrary  appointment 
of  God,  and  unless  we  go  back  of  our  creation  and  in- 
quire, '■'■Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus?  "  why  hast  thou  made 
my  body  and  soul  liable  to  be  affected  pleasantly  or  un- 
pleasantly by  good  or  bad  actions.''  it  is  useless  to  com- 
plain of  the  laws  of  revelation,  which  were  not  first,  but 
came  in  after  we  were  made,  and  that  with  a  view  of  meet- 
ing our  constitutional  necessities  as  already  established. 
The  vital  pradlical  truth  is,  that  "All  have  sinned  and 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God;"  then  "The  wages  of 
sin  is  death."  We  have  received  a  law  which  is  "holy, 
just,  and  good,"  the  violation  of  which  brings  on  results 
more  terrible  than  we  are  willing  to  admit. 

II.  It  is  readily  admitted  that  the  transgression  of  natu- 
ral and  civil  law  is  justly  followed  hy  punishment;  nor  do  the 
most  skeptical  as  to  punishment,  as  taught  in  the  Bible, 
ever  complain  of  injustice  in  this.  While  it  is  fully  ad- 
mitted that  "the  wages  of  sin  is  death,"  both  in  our  nat- 


90 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


ural  and  civil  relations,  the  human  heart  is  slow  to  believe 
the  same  thing  true  of  the  moral  law.  Man  does  not  wish 
to  believe  a  bad  account  of  his  future,  and  this  may  be 
the  reason  why  the  Savior  occupied  three  times  as  much 
space  in  describing  the  condition  of  Dives  as  in  describ- 
ing that  of  Lazarus.  Also  in  Deuteronomy  28th,  nearly 
four  times  as  many  verses  are  required  to  tell  of  the  curses 
as  of  the  blessings.  It  is  pleasanter  to  believe  in  heaven 
than  in  hell. 

That  the  transgressor  of  moral  law  should  feel  the  con- 
sequence as  expressed  in  the  compundlion  of  conscience 
in  this  life  is  not  often  denied,  but  that  the  results  of 
condud:  here  should  extend  to  worlds  unseen  is  a  con- 
viction by  no  means  well  settled  in  the  minds  of  many. 
Whatever  may  be  the  nature,  intensity,  and  duration  of 
future  punishment,  one  thing  must  be  admitted  :  that 
the  value  and  the  necessity  of  the  death  of  our  Savior  are 
to  be  stridly  measured  thereby.  If  he  died  to  save  us 
from  an  hour's  pain,  we  should  feel  somewhat  obliged  to 
him.  If  his  death  should  deliver  us  from  a  life-long 
threatened  torture  of  mind  and  body,  we  should  be  very 
grateful,  but  could  scarcely  for  that  be  bound  to  him 
through  eternal  cycles,  to  serve  him  and  love  him  with 
every  thought  and  emotion  of  our  whole  being.  But  if 
he  saved  me  "from  so  great  a  death,''  from  the  "worm 
that  never  dies,"  from  the  fire  unquenchable,  from  the 
"left  hand,"  and  from  hell,  then  will  I  sing 

"Love  so  amazing,  so  divine. 
Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all." 

If  my  siri  had  incurred  the  intensest  sorrows  of  the 
mind,  the  fradure  of  every  bone,  the  crushing  of  every 
muscle,  and  the  rupture  of  every  blood-vessel,  and  if  this 


THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


91 


were  to  be  endured  for  threescore  years  and  ten  before 
my  rest  should  come,  even  then  the  death  of  our  Sacrifice 
would  not  have  been  absolutely  "necessary,"  for  time 
would  bring  me  through.  But  the  history  of  Dives  and 
Lazarus  turns  heaven  and  hell  both  inside  but,  and  re- 
veals the  fearful  truth  that  no  emigrant  ever  came  out  of 
hell  to  heaven.  The  gulf  is  fixed;  the  damned  can  never 
be  redeemed,  and,  blessed  be  God !  the  redeemed  can 
never  now  be  damned.  "  He  that  is  holy  will  now  be 
holy  still,  and  he  that  is  righteous  shall  be  righteous  still ;" 
but  it  is  equally  and  fearfully  true  that  "  He  that  is  un- 
just shall  be  unjust  still,  and  he  that  is  filthy  shall  be 
filthy  still."  The  result  of  sin,  then,  is  not  temporary, 
but  eternal,  and  our  obligation  to  Jesus,  therefore,  is  un- 
limited, and  can  only  be  discharged  through  endless  years. 

The  very  beginning  of  all  true  conceptions  of  the  doc- 
trine of  atonement  is  found  in  a  true  conception  of  sin 
and  its  consequences.  To  underestimate  the  "exceeding 
sinfulness  of  sin"  is  to  underestimate  the  atonement  or 
reconciliation  to  God.  To  suppose,  also,  that  the  conse- 
quences of  sin  are  but  trifling,  destroys  all  faith  in  the 
necessity  of  the  death  of  Christ.  Hence  all  parties  who, 
either  wholly  or  partially,  deny  the  doctrine  here  being 
treated,  will  be  found  with  conceptions  more  or  less  in- 
different as  to  the  nature  and  condemnation  of  sin.  If 
sin  be  a  trifle,  its  effeds  can  not  be  serious,  sin  itself  can 
not  be  "exceedingly  sinful."  The  Savior,  consequently, 
did  but  little  for  us  in  delivering  us  from  it;  our  gratitude 
to  him  is,  therefore,  weak,  and  all  our  notions  of  the  worth 
of  the  "unspeakable  gift"  are  brought  low.  As  no  pa- 
tient can  feel  very  grateful  to  a  physician  for  relief  admin- 
istered jf  he  thought  himself  in  no  great  danger,  so  our 
cheap  conviftions  of  sin  and  its  fearful  work  upon  the 


92 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


soul  destroy  our  gratitude  and  love  and  faith  in  Jesus. 
Our  sins  seem  small,  rather  innocent,  and  very  pardon- 
able. Being  so  small  as  to  escape  our  eyes  blinded  in 
their  favor,  we  conclude  they  escape  the  eye  of  God.  But 
Paul  has  said:  "Though  I  am  conscious  of  no  fault  in 
myself,  yet  am  I  not  hereby  justified,  for  he  that  judgeth 
me  is  the  Lord."  Our  not  perceiving  our  little  sins 
does  not  prove  their  absence  from  us;  for  David  prays, 
"Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults" — the  smallest, 
most  hidden,  and  most  insidious  faults — for  the  animal- 
cule will  in  time  become  leviathan,  and  the  inse6t  sins  of 
this  life  will  rise  like  mountains  before  us  in  the  next. 

Once  more  before  leaving  this  point — for  here  the  real 
difficulty  lies.  Men  would  readily  accept  Christ  if  they 
were  convinced  of  the  wickedness  and  deep  damnation  of 
sin.  They  are  fond  of  believing  that  sin  has  no  eternal 
consequences ;  that  its  wounds  will  all  heal  up  by  the  re- 
cuperative force  of  the  soul  itself,  without  the  aid  of  a 
Savior;  that  it  will  amount  to  some  inconvenience  truly, 
but  even  that  for  no  great  length  of  time,  "These  shall 
go  into  everlasting  punishment"  is  not  a  very  palatable 
saying,  but  is  an  exceedingly  "faithful  saying,  and  worthy 
of  all  acceptation,"  or  else  Jesus  Christ  had  no  great  er- 
rand into  this  world.  He  came  to  save  us  from  some 
thing,  or  there  is  no  Savior.  His  greatness  as  a  Redeemer 
is  measured  by  the  greatness  of  the  danger  from  which  he 
redeemed  us,  and  when  we  believe  that  he  saved  us  from 
"everlasting  punishment,"  we  feel  that  he  has  wrought 
out  "eternal  redemption  for  us." 

Who  can  prove  that  the  soul  will  repent  and  get  rid  of 
sin  beyond  the  grave?  Dives  was  still  an  unbeliever  in 
the  power  of  God's  word  after  death,  and  thought  the 
spirit  or  ghost  of  Lazarus  would  have  much  more  influ- 


THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


93 


ence  with  his  five  brethren  than  would  Moses  and  the 
prophets.  Besides,  if  a  man  will  in  this  life  break  over 
all  the  barriers  placed  in  his  way  to  hell,  is  it  not  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  after  death,  when  public  opinion, 
self-resped:,  and  Gospel  influences  can  no  longer  operate, 
his  speed  in  sin  will  be  accelerated  rather  than  retarded  ? 
Sin,  then,  will  remain  in  the  soul,  in  the  will,  for  evermore ; 
and  if  sin  be  the  prime  cause  of  pain,  the  pain  itself  must 
be  eternal.  The  flesh  will  feel  the  thorn  as  long  as  the 
thorn  is  in  the  flesh,  and  the  only  redemption  from  the 
pain  is  redemption  from  the  thorn,  and  the  only  redemp- 
tion from  death  spiritual  will  be  found  in  salvation  from 
sin,  the  sting  of  death.  Now,  Jesus  undertakes  to  de- 
liver man  from  sin  by  his  atoning  blood,  that  death  may 
have  no  sting,  and  that  we  may  be  saved  from  its  eternal 
consequences.  To  show  on  what  principles  he  proposes 
to  accomplish  this  great  salvation  shall  be  our  purpose  in 
the  pages  following,  that  we,  each  one,  may  see 

What  Jesus  Christ  "  has  done  for  me 

Before  I  drew  my  breath. 
What  pain,  what  labor  to  secure 

My  soul  from  endless  death." 

III.  An  impression  has  been  spread  wide  in  the  public 
mind  implying  that  God  the  Father  has  always  been  hard 
to  persuade  to  pardon  the  sinner,  and  that  it  is  only  after 
long  and  hard  pleading  on  the  part  of  our  Advocate  that  he 
consents  to  our  release.  Poets  have  worked  it  into  their 
rhymes,  and  pulpit  orators  have  made  it  the  pabulum 
of  pathos,  but  the  Bible  teaches  precisely  the  opposite. 
"God  so  loved  the  world;"  "We  love  him  because  he 
first  loved  us;"  "In  this  the  love  of  God  was  mani- 
fested ;"  and  many  other  passages,  demonstrate  his  willing- 


94 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


ness  to  forgive  as  soon  as  it  could  be  done  on  principles 
that  would  not  involve  the  destrudion  of  moral  govern- 
ment. If  a  civil  ruler  pardon  one  who  truly  deserves 
punishment,  he  is  as  unjust  as  if  he  were  to  punish  an 
innocent  person,  for  justice  consists  in  treating  each  one 
just  as  he  deserves.  When  man  had  sinned,  the  problem 
was  to  ascertain  how  he  might  be  pardoned,  and  yet  not 
impugn  the  justice  of  God.  If  man  receives  his  dues, 
mercy  is  "clear  gone  forever,"  but  if  he  be  pardoned, 
how  can  it  be  reconciled  with  justice,  which  demands  his 
punishment  ?  This  was  a  problem  which  no  human  gov- 
ernor had  ever  been  able  to  solve. 

In  the  days  of  the  Roman  consuls,  it  is  said  that  a  cer- 
tain commander,  named  Brutus,  had  his  army  drawn  up 
in  form  of  battle  just  before  the  enemy,  who  confronted 
the  whole  length  of  his  lines.  Brutus  commanded  his 
men  not  to  accept  a  challenge  from  the  foe  to  single  com- 
bat to  decide  the  issues  of  the  day;  and  knowing  how 
hard  it  was  for  his  soldiers  to  be  mocked  for  cowardice, 
he  denounced  the  penalty  of  death  upon  any  one  who 
should  violate  this  order.  Soon  a  strong  man  came  for- 
ward into  the  middle  space  between  the  two  armies,  and 
bantered  the  stoutest  Roman  that  ever  handled  a  sword 
or  hurled  a  spear.  And  after  indulging  the  usual  brag- 
gadocio and  insult  for  their  seeming  cowardice  for  a  long 
time,  the  martial  spirit  of  one  of  the  sons  of  Brutus  was 
so  stung  and  aroused  by  his  abusive  language  that  he 
rushed  into  the  midst,  accepting  the  challenge,  fought  a 
terrible  duel,  slew  the  enemy,  stripped  him  of  his  armor, 
won  the  day  for  his  countrymen,  and  returned  amid  the 
shouts  of  all  his  comrades  in  arms.  But  a  certain  sad- 
ness soon  settled  over  the  countenances  of  all.  A  military 
order  had  been  disobeyed.    The  aft  could  not  be  ignored 


THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


95 


with  safety.  Army  discipline,  army  efFeftiveness,  and 
consequently  national  safety,  would  all  be  imperiled  by 
passing  over  this  disobedience  of  martial  law.  A  father's 
heart  cried  out  for  mercy;  military  necessity  demanded 
justice.  Had  Brutus  spared  his  son,  he  could  not  have 
punished  the  son  of  any  other  man,  and  this  would  have 
disorganized  and  demoralized  his  whole  army,  and  given 
up  the  whole  nation  a  prey  to  the  enemy.  He  resolved 
that  the  nation  should  see  that  he  who  spared  not  his 
own  son  would  spare  no  one  else,  and  that  stridt  obe- 
dience in  the  army  was  indispensable  to  the  safety  of  all. 
Here  was  a  governmental  difficulty  involving  a  contest 
between  justice  and  mercy,  \n  which  justice  took  the  lead, 
oecause  no  arrangement  could  be  made  securing  the  exer- 
cise of  both.  The  question  with  Brutus  was,  how  he 
could  be  just,  and  still  show  mercy  to  his  son,  which  is 
the  same  principle  involved  in  the  salvation  of  sinners. 
How  can  God  be  just,  and  yet  the  justifier  of  the  unpun- 
ished offender?  If  justice  be  exaded,  every  sinner  will 
feel  the  bottom  of  perdition;  if  mercy  prevail  at  the  ex- 
pense of  justice  and  the  law,  it  would  ruin  the  universe, 
for  all  intelligences  would  see  the  weakness  and  unright- 
eousness of  the  supreme  government,  and  other  angels 
might  be  found  unwilling  to  "keep  their  first  estate." 
God  must  preserve  his  rule,  must  magnify  his  law,  and 
make  it  honorable  before  all  angels  and  all  men. 

I  will  not  say  that  any  illustration,  drawn  from  the 
governments  of  men,  can  fully  represent  the  point  just 
now  before  us;  but  I  will  suppose  a  case,  which  I  think 
will  explain  some  of  the  principles  involved  in  the  doc- 
trine of  atonement  through  Jesus  Christ.  Suppose  ten 
thousand  subjeds  of  the  English  Crown  should  rise  in 
sedition  and  rebellion  against  the  lawful  authority;  that 


96 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


they  have  been  tried,  convifted,  and  sentenced  to  banish- 
ment to  St.  Helena  for  ten  years.  The  government 
would  gladly  pardon  them,  were  it  safe  to  do  so.  But 
the  law  must  be  respedled;  sin  must  be  punished  before 
all,  that  others  also  may  fear;  and  while  mercy  pleads  in 
the  heart  of  the  executive,  justice  demands  the  penalty  of 
violated  law.  Now,  it  is  plainly  impossible  for  English 
law,  or  any  other  law,  to  show  mercy,  for  "  law  worketh 
wrath."  When  Darius  had  signed  a  decree  that  threw 
Daniel  into  the  lions'  den,  and  yet  desired  to  save  him 
from  the  penalty  of  that  law,  he  "labored  till  the  going 
down  of  the  sun"  to  harmonize  the  working  of  justice 
and  mercy — to  save  his  favored  Daniel,  and  yet  preserve 
his  law — but  failing  in  this,  the  law  must  take  its  course, 
and  the  penalty  be  felt  in  all  its  force.  So,  in  the  absence 
of  what  Mr.  Jenkins  calls  an  "expedient,"  the  ten  thou- 
sand must  bear  their  own  reward.  But,  lo!  an  expedient 
is  suggested,  a  svibstitute,  one  that  will  suffer  in  their 
stead.  Who  must  he  be  ?  One  of  the  guilty  party  ? 
They  must  each  one  suffer  for  their  own  sins,  and  have 
no  merit  to  spare  for  others.  Will  the  banishment  of  a 
common  subje6t  of  the  government,  although  an  innocent 
one,  meet  the  emergency!  Such  would  not  be  "found 
worthy,"  for  his  punishment  would  call  no  attention  suf- 
ficient to  satisfy  an  account  with  the  whole  empire.  But 
if  a  son  from  the  throne,  the  Prince,  will  come  forward, 
not  only  innocent  as  a  lamb  of  any  political  offense,  but 
government  ally  worthy  to  be  a  substitute,  and  will,  through 
love  for  these  offenders,  offer  to  endure  tne  ten  years'  ex- 
ile in  their  stead,  the  government  may,  without  the  leas-t 
fear  of  losing  its  proper  tone  and  authority  with  the  peo- 
ple, accept  the  noble  substitute,  and  remit  the  penalty  of 
the  transgressors.    The  Prince,  remember,  is  not  in  jus- 


THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


97 


tice  bound  to  do  this,  but  in  compassion  for  his  future  sub- 
jedts  he  kindly  makes  the  offer.  The  government  is  not 
bound  to  accept  him  as  a  substitute,  and  to  release  them; 
but  being  from  the  first  anxious  to  deliver  them,  and  now 
seeing  a  way  in  which  it  may  be  done,  in  pity  for  the 
convidls,  and  in  the  grandest  admiration  of  their  noble 
Prince,  the  system  of  mercy  is  agreed  to,  and  carried  into 
effed. 

The  Prince  returns  from  his  exile  amid  the  acclamations 
of  the  whole  nation,  who  are  ready  to  crown  him  Lord  of 
all.  In  due  time  he  is  coronated  king  of  the  realm.  He 
has  not  only  won  the  admiration  of  all  the  people,  but 
the  love,  unbounded  love,  of  the  ten  thousand  who,  if 
not  dead  to  every  noble  impulse,  will  be  the  most  loyal 
subjedls  of  his  empire;  because,  no  sooner  had  the  new 
king  ascended  his  throne,  than  he  announced  himself  as 
their  ransom,  having  fully  paid,  in  his  own  'person,  the 
debt  they  owed;  and  now,  upon  certain  terms  honorable 
both  to  him  and  them,  he  is  ready  to  proclaim  their  par- 
don. But  if  any  portion  of  them,  ungrateful  for  all  he 
has  done  for  them,  will  now  refuse  to  have  him  "  reign 
over  them,"  what  will  be  their  political  status  in  the  eyes 
of  all  the  world  ?  Can  they  be  forgiven  ?  Was  the  ex- 
ile of  the  Prince  alone  sufficient  to  reinstate  them  without 
an  humble  recognition  of  the  proffered  mercy,  and  a  grate- 
ful acceptance  of  it  ?  Are  not  their  cordial  services  due 
to  their  benefactor.''  Their  original  offense  was  grievous 
enough,  but  if  that  is  to  be  emphasized  by  this  basest 
ot  all  ingratitude,  it  would  double  the  aggregate  of  their 
guilt.  If  they  refuse  this  arrangement  for  pardon,  will 
any  one  else  try  to  save  them  ?  Will  there  "remain  any 
more  sacrifice"  for  their  political  offenses?  Or  will  it  not 
be  rather  a  "fearful  looking  for"  the  execution  of  the 


98 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


penalty  of  sin  now  exceedingly  aggravated  by  this  meanest 
exhibition  of  heartless  ingratitude  ? 

The  parallel  intended  is  easy,  and  does  not  require 
me  to  name  at  length  the  points  already  made  luminous 
enough  by  the  figure  just  used.   Jesus  is  our  Prince.  He 
volunteered  his  humiliation  to  redeem  our  souls  from 
hell.    He  returned  from  the  grave  to  the  throne,  and 
issued  his  proclamation  of  pardon  to  all  for  whom  he 
died:  "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved." 
He  died  for  us,  instead  of  us,  in  place  of  us,  "  bore  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,"  "  took  our  infirmities, 
and  bare  our  sicknesses,"  "  by  his  stripes  we  are  healed," 
sa  that  whoever  now  "believeth  on  him  shall  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life."    The  Divine  government  will 
not  now  suffer  loss  when  allowing  the  sinner  mercifully 
to  pass  unpunished,  for  when  Jesus  had  become  legally  re- 
sponsible for  the  sins  of  the  world,  ev^en  he  was  not  al- 
lowed to  escape  the  penalty.     Even  though  in  the  days 
of  his  flesh  he,  in  Gethsemane,  "offered  up  prayers  and 
supplications  with  strong  crying  and  tears,"  the  "cup 
could  not  pass  from  him."     Surely,  "  he  that  spared  not 
his  own  son,"  who  was  but  legally  responsible  for  sin,  will 
spare  no  other  one  who  is  both  legally  and  morally  amen- 
able to  a  broken  law.    Sin  must  be  punished,  whether  the 
substitute  or  the  original  offender  be  responsible  for  it. 
If  the  sinner  accept  the  substitute,  he  may  be  forgiven, 
and  in  that  case  both  mercy  and  justice  are  satisfied.  The 
demands  of  the  law  were  met,  in  the  Prince,  in  a  way  that 
secures  the  stability  of  government,  which  is  now  enabled 
to  exercise  the  desired  mercy  with  safety.    If  the  smner 
accept  not  the  sacrifice  made  for  him,  he  becomes  respon- 
sible for  all  his  sins  in  his  own  person;  for  no  prince  could 
pardon  a  subjeft  who  would  not  even  recognize  the  mercy 


THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


99 


sought  to  be  conferred  upon  him.  Atonement,  then,  is 
simply  reconciliation  to  God,  efFeded  as  soon  as  pardon 
is  conferred  upon  the  sinner;  and  this  is  done  by  every 
merciful  governor  as  soon  as  it  can  be  done  with  safety 
to  the  government,  the  adlual  realization  of  pardon  being 
dependent  both  upon  the  control  of  the  governmental  dif- 
ficulty and  also  upon  the  acceptance  of  the  terms  of  free- 
dom by  the  offender. 

Ten  years'  banishment  may  be  sufficient  punishment 
for  certain  crimes  committed  against  the  State;  and  this 
has  induced  some  to  conclude  that  moral  evil  may  also 
be  worn  out  by  time  and  by  personal  suffering,  without 
the  death  of  Christ.  But  it  must  be  patent  to  every  fair 
thinker,  that  after  the  civil  punishments  have  been  ex- 
hausted, the  moral  obliquity  of  the  criminal  may  be  the 
same  as  before.  The  civil  law  never  takes  away  the  stain 
of  moral  guilt,  but  leaves  the  offender  to  settle  that  ac- 
count with  his  God  and  Judge;  for  no  lacerations  of  the 
body,  nor  sorrows  of  the  mind,  nor  inflidlion  of  civil  pen- 
alties can  ever  atone  for  sin. 

"  Could  my  tears  forever  flow. 
Could  my  zeal  no  languor  know. 
This  for  sin  could  not  atone. 
Thou  must  save,  and  Thou  alone." 

Could  our  own  sufferings,  either  in  this  world  or  in 
limbo,  or  in  purgatory,  or  in  hell,  as  some  believe  and 
teach,  dispose  of  our  sins,  then  would  heaven  at  last  be 
won,  not  by  the  Savior,  but  by  our  own  powers  of  endur- 
ance ;  then  is  Jesus  Christ  no  Savior  in  any  sense,  foi 
whoever  suffers  for  all  his  sins  is  not  saved  from  sin  by 
Jesus,  or  by  any  one  else.  If  you  owe  a  relentless  creditor 
a  thousand  pounds,  and  instead  of  granting  your  prayer, 


lOO 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


as  an  insolvent  debtor,  for  forgiveness  of  the  debt,  he 
compel  you  "  to  be  sold,  your  wife,  and  your  children, 
and  all  that  you  have,  and  payment  to  be  made,"  could 
it  be  said  that  you  were  saved  from  the  debt  ?  No  more 
can  Jesus  be  called  our  Savior  if  we  must  suffer  out  our 
own  demerits.  Then  is  the  world  without  mercy,  Christ 
a  mere  pretender,  and  sinners  left  to  count  unnumbered 
years  in  pain.  The  duration  of  this  must  be  measured  by 
the  continuance  of  sin  in  the  soul.  As  long  as  disease  is  in 
the  body  we  must  be  sick,  and  as  long  as  sin  unrepented 
of  and  unforgiven  remains  in  the  soul,  be  that  a  million 
years,  the  sting  of  death  will  still  be  felt.  Forgiveness 
and  cleansing  from  all  unrighteousness  are  promised  in 
this  life  to  all  who  obey  the  Gospel.  Now,  if  there  be 
any  assurance  of  mercy  beyond  the  grave,  in  what  chap- 
ter and  verse  may  it  be  found?  Jesus  said  to  the  Jews: 
"Ye  shall  die  in  your  sins,  and  where  I  am  ye  can  not 
come;"  from  which  it  is  plainly  inferable  that  if  a  man 
die  in  sin,  his  condition  is  fixed  forever.  And  this  har- 
monizes with  Abraham's  language  to  Dives  :  "  Between 
us  and  you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed;'  they  can  not  pass 
from  you  to  us.  Besides  these  fearful  intimations  of  the 
"wrath  to  come,"  it  is  said,  in  the  last  chapter  of  Revela- 
tion, after  the  judgment  is  past,  "  the  righteous  saved, 
the  wicked  damned,  and  God's  eternal  government  ap- 
proved," "He  that  is  filthy  let  him  be  filthy  still,  he  that 
is  unjust  let  him  be  unjust  still,"  stereotyped  in  sin  for- 
ever. Some  one  has  thrown  Solomon's  faithful  saying 
into  verse: 

"Just  as  the  tree,  cut  down,  that  fell 

Northward  or  southward,  there  it  lies ; 
So  man  departs  to  heaven  or  hell. 
Fixed  in  the  state  in  which  he  dies." 


THOMAS  MUNNELL. 


lOI 


The  fabled  Gorgon  head  was  said  to  have  power  to  pet- 
rify every  one  who  ventured  to  look  upon  its  horrid  face. 
Some  artist,  trying  to  represent  this  idea  upon  the  can- 
vas, drew  a  thief  who  had  happened  to  turn  his  eye  upon 
the  Gorgon  just  while  in  the  act  of  stealing,  and,  lo!  with 
his  hand  upon  his  neighbor's  purse,  he  was  horrified  into 
a  solid  statue,  petrified  in  his  guilt.  Death  will  stereo- 
type every  sinner,  for  then  the  seed-time  will  be  gone,  the 
summer  ended,  and  the  fixedness  of  the  eternal  state  be 
realized.  The  certainty,  then,  that  some  "will  go  away 
into  everlasting  punishment,"  should  alarm  the  stoutest 
heart  and  pale  the  bravest  sinner  as  he  flies  on  to  the  bar 
of  God.  But  to  avert  the  unfathomable  woe,  and  turn 
the  curse  away,  Jesus  "was  made  a  curse  for  us." 

"To  shame  our  sins  he  blushed  in  blood, 
He  closed  his  eyes  to  show  us  God," 

dwelt  among  the  dead  that  we  might  be  forever  with  the 
living;  for  by  his  atoning  blood  we  are  reconciled  to  God, 
justice  is  content,  the  law  is  highly  magnified,  while  mercy 
and  full  forgiveness  are  proflTered  to  all ;  for  "  He  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  be- 
lieveth  not  shall  be  damned." 

Lord,  help  thy  poor  servants  to  preach  this  Gospel  with 
holy  zeal  and  quenchless  love,  that  sinners  may  be  saved 
from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  thy  great  name  be  glorified 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 


i 


;  i 


J 


■i 


1 


-  J^iiiiers.  Cinrinnnti.  0 


LEWIS  L.  PINKERTON. 


T  EWIS  L.  PINKERTON  was  born  in  Baltimore  County,  Maryland, 
'  January  28th,  181 2.  His  paternal  grandparents  were  Irish  ;  his  ma- 
ternal, German.  In  the  winter  of  1821,  when  Lewis  was  in  his  tenth 
year,  his  father  settled  in  Brooke  County,  West  Va.,  having  previously 
moved  from  Maryland  to  Chester  County,  Penn.,  the  place  of  his  nativity. 
Ten  years  of  the  son's  life  were  spent  among  the  romantic  hills  of  West 
Virginia,  Those  years,  as  he  says  himself,  were  full  of  "incessant,  hard, 
ill-requited  toil;"  but  they  were  useful  in  developing  in  him  the  virtue, 
self-reliance,  and  fidelity  to  principle  which  have  ever  since  charafterized 
him. 

He  was  trained  in  the  Presbyterian  faith,  but  becoming  perplexed  with 
the  dodrine  of  "the  Decrees"  as  taught  in  the  "Shorter  Catechism," 
and  having  carefully  studied  the  Word  of  God,  he  was,  in  1830,  baptized 
under  the  personal  ministry  of  Alexander  Campbell. 

In  1831  he  left  West  Virginia,  and,  after  visiting  several  localities,  set- 
tled in  Trenton,  Butler  County,  Ohio.  Here  he  engaged  in  teaching  a 
common  school,  and  in  the  study  and  praftice  of  medicine.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1833,  ''"'^  '^3  5  attended  a  course  of  leftures  in  the  Medical 
College  of  Ohio,  at  Cincinnati.  In  1836  he  removed  to  Carthage,  Ohio, 
then,  and  for  some  years  later,  the  place  of  residence  of  the  lamented 
Walter  Scott.  He  continued  to  study  and  praftice  medicine  till  May, 
1838,  when  he  gave  up  his  profession,  in  which  he  had  been  quite  suc- 
cessful, and  began  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

He  at  once  entered  upon  his  new  calling,  with  energy  and  success. 
During  the  years  1838,  1839,  ^^'^  1840,  he  traveled  almost  constantly, 
preaching  the  glad  tidings  to  thousands,  and  witnessing  the  baptism  of  a 
great  number  of  converts.  In  1841  he  removed  to  Lexington,  Ky.,  and 
took  charge  of  the  Church  in  that  city.  During  the  winter  of  the  same 
year  he  attended  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  Medical  Department  of 
Transylvania  University,  and  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.  He  resigned 
his  conneftion  with  the  Church  in  Lexington  in  the  fall  of  1843,  and 
spent  the  remainder  of  that  year,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  next,  in 

(103) 


104 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


preaching  and  soliciting  subscriptions  for  Bacon  College,  located  at  Har- 
•odsburg,  Ky.  He  removed  to  Midway,  Ky.,  in  the  spring  of  1845, 
where  he  taught  a  successful  Female  Academy,  with  only  occasional  and 
slight  assistance,  until  the  summer  of  1851.  Meantime  he  conceived  the 
tdea  of  a  Female  Orphan  School,  and  communicated  his  plans  to  J.  Ware 
Parish,  a  noble  Christian  gentleman,  who  at  once  took  hold  of  the  enter- 
prise with  the  warmest  zeal.  In  the  winter  of  1846—47  a  charter  was 
obtained  from  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky,  and  the  Orphan  School  lo- 
cated at  Midway  was  put  into  successful  operation. 

The  establishment  of  this  school  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
important  events  in  Dr.  Pinkerton's  career.  It  was  his  own  conception; 
and  to  him,  more  than  to  any  other  man,  are  the  Disciples  in  Kentucky 
indebted  for  this  magnificent  monument  of  Christian  liberality. 

From  1 85 1  to  i860  he  was  principally  engaged  in  preaching  and  teach- 
ing. The  churches  at  Versailles,  Paris,  and  Midway  were  those  for  which 
he  labored  most  of  this  time,  and  at  all  these  points  he  was  eminently  suc- 
cessful. 

In  i860  he  removed  to  Harrodsburg,  having  been  elefted  to  the  chair 
of  Belles-Lettres  and  Political  Science  in  Kentucky  University.  When 
the  University  was  removed  to  Lexington,  he  removed  also  to  that  city, 
which  is  the  place  of  his  residence  at  this  time.  In  February,  1866,  he 
resigned  his  professorship  in  the  University,  and  has  since  been  preaching  at 
various  points.    He  delivered  a  course  of  leftures  at  Hiram  the  present  year. 

Besides  being  a  successful  preacher  and  teacher,  the  Doctor  is  one  of 
the  most  accomplished  writers  in  the  ranks  of  the  Disciples.  In  1848  he 
edited  and  published  the  "Christian  Mirror."  In  1851  he  was  senior  ed- 
itor of  the  "  Ecclesiastic  Reformer."  In  1853-54  edited  the  Kentucky 
Department  of  the  "Christian  Age;"  and,  in  1844-45  the  "New  Era,"  a 
weekly  newspaper,  the  organ  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  in  Kentucky. 

During  his  life  he  has  been  offered  the  Presidency  of  several  colleges, 
but  has  uniformly  declined,  because  he  never  considered  his  scholarship 
equal  to  such  a  position.  To  use  his  own  style,  he  is  an  educated  man, 
but  not  a  scholar.  Nevertheless,  his  scholarship  is  quite  respeftable,  such 
as  a  man  of  less  modesty  would  regard  sufficient  for  any  of  the  places  to 
which  he  has  been  called. 

Both  as  a  writer  and  speaker,  his  style  is  very  original.  His  imagination 
is  chaste,  though  somewhat  tinged  with  an  autumn  sadness.  His  logical 
powers  are  above  mediocrity,  and  his  thoughts  always  fresh  and  vigorous.  He 
is  distinguished  for  great  independence  of  charafter,  and,  on  this  account,  his 
aftions  are  not  always  well  understood.  He  is  thoroughly  conscientious, 
and  possesses,  in  a  high  degree,  a  generous,  sympathetic,  and  forgiving  nature. 


JESUS  THE  FIRST  AND  THE  LAST. 


BY  L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


"What  think  ye  of  Christ?" — Matt,  xxii :  42. 

THE  science  of  Christianity,  Theology,  whether  or- 
thodox or  heterodox,  will  not,  at  any  time  this  side 
the  Millennium,  become  the  possession  of  any  considera- 
ble number  of  those  who  "  profess  religion,"  not  even  of 
those  whose  lives  are  shaped  and  controlled  by  it.  Ninety- 
nine  of  every  hundred  who  are  to  be  saved,  if  saved  at 
all,  "by  the  grace  of  God,"  shall  not  fully  comprehend 
the  methods  of  that  grace.  The  very  great  majority  of 
men  and  women  are  poor,  and  from  all  we  can  now  see, 
are  likely  to  remain  so.  They  can  not  have  time,  there- 
fore, for  theological  studies,  nor  can  they  possess  the 
mental  training  which  such  studies  must  ever  require. 
The  minister  of  Christ  strangely  mistakes,  then,  who 
treats  the  men,  women,  and  children  that  meet  him  in 
the  house  of  prayer  as  though  they  were  students  of 
theology,  before  whom  he  is  to  discuss  "dodlrines" — 
dodrines  which  he  himself  but  feebly  apprehends,  after 
years  of  careful  study.  He  mistakes  still  more  fatally, 
if  he  shall  persuade  himself  that  these  dodlrines  are  the 
matters  of  Christian  faith,  and  that  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners or  of  saints  is  involved  in  the  understanding  of 


io6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


them.  Jesus  was,  in  all  respeds,  pre-eminently  the 
Teacher;  but  he  was  not  a  teacher  of  doftrines  ;  he  did 
not  teach  "  systematic  divinity."  The  poor  people  to 
whom  Jesus  spoke — the  Marys  and  Marthas,  the  pvib- 
licans  and  sinners,  the  rough  men  who  caught  fish  in  the 
sea  of  Galilee,  and  the  plain  women  who  sold  the  fish 
in  the  neighboring  villages,  the  small  artificers,  the  shep- 
herds and  the  vine-dressers  of  Galilee — would  have  made 
nothing  of  the  debatable  doftrines  of  our  modern  Chris- 
tianity. If  a  clear  apprehension,  not  to  say  comprehen- 
sion, of  what  are  called  "  the  dodrines  of  the  Bible,"  is, 
indeed,  essential  to  salvation,  may  we  not  pertinently  and 
sorrowfully  ask.  Who,  then,  can  be  saved?  It  is  strange 
that  this  quite  radical  mistake  as  to  the  real  objefts  of 
Christian  faith  should  have  been  perpetuated  so  long, 
seeing  that  those  most  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of 
"orthodox  views,"  as  being  essential  to  "vital  godliness," 
can  not  get  forward  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  without 
involving  themselves  in  perpetual  and  pradlical  contra- 
diftions.  As  thus  :  Grave  and  learned  ministers,  after 
years  of  patient  and  laborious  preparation  and  study, 
will  discuss  before  their  ccuigregations  the  most  recondite 
principles  of  the  Divine  government,  the  most  perplexing 
problems  ever  submitted  to  the  contemplation  of  man- 
kind, and  earnestly,  and  even  vehemently,  insist  that  the 
conclusions  they  may  have  reached  in  regard  to  these  dif- 
ficult themes  contain  the  truth  of  God  ;  that  these  con- 
clusions are  necessary  to  "true  and  saving  faith;"  and 
yet  these  same  ministers  will  receive  into  the  Church 
men,  women,  and  children — perhaps  their  own  wives, 
and  children,  and  servants — not  one  in  fifty  of  whom  has 
the  slightest  conception  of  the  do£irines  in  question  I  Alas  ! 
one  is  tempted  to  exclaim,  when  will  this  great  folly  of 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


preaching  philosophy,  instead  of  preaching  Jesus,  come 
to  an  end  ?  But  few  of  God's  people  seem  to  be  aware 
that  the  misapprehension  as  to  the  real  objedts  of  faith, 
from  which  this  strangely  inconsistent  procedure  springs, 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  nearly  all  the  divisions  that  now 
distrad  and  alienate  the  Protestant  families;  in  fad,  that 
the  Protestant  parties,  with  few  exceptions,  were  born  of 
the  misapprehension.  These  sad  divisions  will  not  be 
healed;  nay,  they  must  increase  in  number  till  this  quite 
radical  misconception  is  correfted.  We  are  cheered  and 
comforted  by  the  hope  that,  even  now,  the  much-needed 
corredlion  is  in  the  way  of  being  effedled;  and  our  present 
discourse  is  designed  to  aid,  in  some  small  degree,  to  bring 
on  the  day  of  Renovation,  when,  as  in  the  beginning,  there 
shall  be  but  one  flock,  as  there  is  but  one  Shepherd.  No 
objedion  ought  to  be  raised  against  the  discussion  of  any 
question  that  may  fairly  arise  out  of  the  Divine  testimo- 
nies. Let  these  questions  be  discussed,  then,  by  those 
who  may  have  taste  and  talent  for  such  discussions;  dis- 
cussed in  books  and  periodicals,  by  the  fire-side  and  in 
lyceums;  but  let  us  not  elevate  our  reasonings  into  Divine 
oracles^  and  make  them  causes  of  strifes  and  divisions 
ainong  the  people  of  God — the  foundations  of  warring, 
antagonistic  seds. 

A  knowledge  of  religion,  as  a  science,  is  not  more  neces- 
sary to  salvation  than  is  a  knowledge  of  geology,  min- 
eralogy, botany,  physiology,  and  chemistry,  to  farming  and 
gardening.  As  men  manage,  by  a  knowledge  of  simple 
fads,  to  cause  the  earth  to  yield  her  increase,  and  as  they 
live  without  any  knowledge  of  the  processes  of  digestion 
and  assimilation,  even  so  may  the  poor  and  the  unedu- 
cated hear,  believe,  and  obey  "the  glorious  Gospel  of 
the  blessed  God,"  and  rejoice  in  "the  great  salvation," 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


without  having  heard  any  thing  whatever  on  the  subjed 
of  Total  Hereditary  Depravity,  Imputed  Righteousness, 
Effedlual  Calling,  the  mode  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  op- 
erates in  conversion,  the  "dodlrine"  of  the  Trinity,  or 
its  opposite,  or,  indeed,  on  any  other  of  the  vexed  ques- 
tions that  have  originated  and  that  perpetuate  religious 
parties.  Do  we  mistake  utterly?  If  not,  then  is  it  true 
that  an  overwhelming  majority  of  all  who  are  brought  to 
God  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  even  in  the  most  en- 
lightened communities,  know  only  that  they  are  sinners; 
that  they  ought  to  be  holy  in  heart  and  in  life;  that  they 
are  helpless;  that  they  are  disquieted,  and  fearful,  and  mis- 
erable. They  believe  that  God  has  pitied  and  loved  them ; 
that  Jesus  died  for  their  sins  ;  that  God  will  forgive  them 
for  Christ's  sake;  that  he  will  comfort  and  sustain  them 
through  life;  and  that  he  will  take  them  to  a  glorious  home 
in  heaven  finally,  if  they  live  and  die  in  Jesus.  And  these, 
we  may  add,  remain  the  chief  articles  of  their  creed  through 
life;  these  and  similar  simple  truths,  apprehended  with  a 
clearness  and  force,  varied  by  difference  in  temperament 
and  culture. 

To  pursue  the  train  of  thought  we  are  in  yet  a  little 
further.  Let  any  one  competent  to  do  so,  set  himself  to 
ascertain  the  amount  and  kind  of  "doftrinal"  knowledge 
possessed  by  any  congregation  of  Christians  of  average 
general  intelligence  and  of  average  piety.  Beginning  with 
the  creation,  let  him  pass  leisurely  over  the  four  thousand 
years  of  Old  Testament  history  and  prophesy.  He  will 
see  what  the  merchants,  farmers,  mechanics,  their  wives 
and  children,  the  clerks,  shop-boys,  and  the  women  of 
the  various  handicrafts,  know  about  "Cosmogony,"  the 
Science  of  the  Deluge;  what  ideas  are  entertained  of  the 
wonderful  and  astounding  providences  of  God,  as  dis- 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


played  in  his  dealings  with  the  Patriarchs,  with  the 
Egyptians,  with  Israel  during  their  journey  to  Canaan, 
with  the  same  people  under  their  judges  and  their  kings, 
and  with  the  idolatrous  nations  with  which  the  people 
of  Israel  came  into  conflict.  The  examiner  will,  doubt- 
less, find  failh  enough  in  all  that  is  written,  so  far  as  the 
record  has  been  read  and  rerrtembered  ;  but  he  will  find, 
also,  that  to  the  vast  majority,  the  things  revealed  have 
but  a  shadowy,  misty  existence,  and  that,  except  in  rare 
instances,  generalization  has  not  been  even  so  much  as 
thought  of ;  in  no  instance  quite  satisfactorily  accom- 
plished. Let  the  same  course  be  pursued  with  New 
Testament  revelations,  the  objed  being  to  determine  with 
exactness  the  "views"  entertained  by  the  masses  on  the 
subjeds  of  debate  among  Protestant  Christians.  He  will 
find  beautiful,  all-conquering  faith,  triumphant  hope,  and 
love  and  joy  that  pass  understanding,  but  very  little 
"Theology" — none,  in  fa6l.  Decided  partisans  will  have 
at  hand  a  few  "proof  texts,"  which  they  will  quote  at 
random,  and  often  incorredly  ;  a  few  will  remember  de- 
finitions and  dodriries  which  they  learned  from  catechisms 
in  childhood,  and  of  which  they  understood  as  much  at 
ten  years  of  age  as  they  now  understand  at  thirty.  Ah, 
well,  sinners  are  saved  by  grace,  through  faith,  and  this 
faith  has  for  its  oh] persons  and  faSfs,  not  "dodlrines," 
not  dogmas,  not  scientific  formulas. 

The  knowledge  absolutely  essential  to  salvation  takes 
its  range  far  within  the  limits  of  the  whole  revelation  of 
God,  and  yet  we  believe  he  has  not  spoken  one  word 
in  vain.  So  we  believe  he  has  not  made  any  thing  in 
vain,  although  the  wisest  naturalist  fails  to  apprehend  the 
uses  of  thousands  of  objedls  that  offer  themselves  to  his 
contemplation. 


1  lO 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


In  the  attempt  to  unfold,  in  part,  the  theme  of  our  pres- 
ent meditation,  we  shall  assume  that  Jesus  understood  his 
own  religion — that  he  knew  in  what  respefts  the  human 
race  was  wrong  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  the  means  by 
which  the  wrong  was  to  be  corre6ted — that  he  knew,  ab- 
solutely and  completely,  all  that  men  ought  to  believe 
and  to  do  in  order  to  justification,  regeneration,  salva- 
tion— that  he  taught  the  essential  truths  of  his  religion, 
and  illustrated  its  principles  of  adtion  in  his  own  life.  We 
shall  find  that,  iii  the  apprehension  of  the  Savior,  the  faith, 
love,  and  obedience  which  his  religion  requires,  have  re- 
spe£l  to  himself. 

I.  Christianity  meets  us  first,  and,  perhaps,  at  the  last, 
not  as  a  theory,  not  as  a  series  of  dodlrines,  not  as  truth 
expressed  in  scientific  formulae;  but — and  blessed  be  God 
that  it  is  so — as  a  history,  a  biography — the  history  of  a 
life  and  of  a  death,  of  a  burial  and  of  a  resurredion,  and 
of  an  ascension  into  heaven.  To  the  hearer  or  reader  of 
that  most  wonderful,  simple,  but  sublime  story,  the  single 
question  is  asked:  "What  think  you  of  Christ?"  Every 
thing,  in  the  religion  of  Jesus,  turns -on  the  answer  that 
may  be  given  to  this  far-reaching  inquiry.  We  need  not 
stop  to  ask  nor  to  answer  the  quite  difficult  questions 
that  speculative  and  ingenious  minds  may  raise  concern- 
ing the  freedom  of  the  will,  the  decrees  of  God,  the  phi- 
losophy of  the  Atonement,  the  mode  of  the  Divine  exist- 
ence, the  plenary  inspiration  of  Scriptures,  On  these, 
and  similar  subjedls,  good  and  great  men  have  differed  in 
opinion  for  sixteen  hundred  years,  and  are  likely  to  differ 
for  sixteen  hundred  more.    "What  think  you  of  Christ?" 

II.  The  question  which  constitutes  our  text  is,  so  to 
speak,  a  "fair  question;"  that  is,  it  is  one  that  every  in- 
telligent being  to  whom  the  story  of  Jesus  is  submitted, 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


Ill 


ought  to  feel  bound  to  answer.  If  the  fadls  and  statements 
of  the  four  Gospels  are  taken  together,  and  in  their  plain, 
most  obvious  import^  no  analysis  or  generalization  is 
required.  'The  essential  truth  lies  on  the  surface.  It  has 
resped  to  a  person^  and  not  to  a  dodlrine,  we  repeat,  with 
emphasis.  Multiplied  thousands  of  the  best  men  and 
women  on  earth  this  day,  if  asked,  What  do  you  think  of 
the  docflrine  of  predestination?  of  the  Trinity?  of  Uni- 
tarianism  ?  of  elecfbion  ?  would  hesitate  to  answer — would 
feel  themselves  wholly  unable  to  answer,  but  who  would, 
nevertheless,  even  die  for  Jesus's  sake,  if  challenged  to 
do  so.  Shall  Protestants  evermore  refuse  to  learn  from 
the  Word  of  God,  from  the  history  of  religious  contro- 
versy, and  from  their  own  observation,  the  folly — shall  we 
say  it? — of  attempting  to  unite  the  people  of  God  in  the 
belief  of  "speculative  divinity?" 

That  we  shall  meet  with  mysteries  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, is  cheerfully  conceded.  The  central  being  in  the 
whole  revelation  of  God,  even  Jesus  Christy  our  Lord^  is 
"  a  great  mystery.''  And  here  we  must  be  indulged  in  a 
passing  remark  on  the  controversies  that  for  fifteen  cen- 
turies have  been  waged  between  Trinitarians  and  Unita- 
rians. These  sad  controversies  seem  to  us  to  consist,  for 
the  most  part,  of  unintelligible  jargon,  of  a  childish  and 
absurd  balancing  of  texts  of  Scripture,  and  of  attempts  to 
force  from  stubborn  fadls  and  plain  declarations  more  than 
they  contain,  or  to  lessen  their  obvious  signification.  And, 
after  all,  do  not  the  greatest  and  best  men  on  both  sides 
of  the  controversy  admit  that  the  relations  of  Jesus  con- 
stitute a  necessary  and  an  ineffably  glorious  mystery?  Why, 
then,  make  attempted  explanations  of  that  which  is  inex- 
plicable, the  basis  of  Christian  fraternization  ?  Why  not 
admit  the  '■^ great  mystery  of  godliness,  God  manifest  in  the 


I  12 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


fleshy'  and  then  affirm  and  teach  all  that  the  divine  testi- 
monies declare  of  the  nature,  relations,  offices,  and  work  of 
the  Lord  Jesus?  We  so  deal  with  other  mysteries  of  rev- 
elation, why  not  with  this,  perhaps,  the  greatest  mystery 
of  them  all  ? 

We  would  speak  with  caution  and  with  unafteded  dif- 
fidence, and  yet  it  does  appear  to  us  that  neither  the  Trin- 
itarian nor  the  Unitarian  formulae  can  be  made  to  include 
all  the  phenomena  of  the  case.  The  earnest  student  of 
"the  record  that  God  has  given  of  his  Son,"  as  he  reads 
and  ponders,  will  say  of  Jesus,  "this  is,  indeed,  'the  son 
of  man,'  my  near  kinsman,  and  yet  he  is  'Immanuel,  God 
with  us;'  this  is  'the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Sav- 
ior of  the  world.'  I  can  believe  all  this,  and  stake  eternal 
issues  on  it,  but  I  can  not  explain  it.  It  is  matter  of  faith, 
not  of  philosophy.  I  believe  it  because  it  is  sustained  by 
ample  testimony,  not  because  I  am  able  to  classify  and  so 
bring  into  scientific  order  all  the  fadls  and  declarations  that 
set  forth  the  nature  of  One  who,  as  the  Word,  'was  in  the 
beginning  with  God,  and  who  was  God,'  but  'became  flesh 
and  dwelt  among  us,'  and  who  will,  in  the  end,  'deliver 
up  the  kingdom  to  God  even  the  Father,  and  himself  be 
subjeSl,  that  God  may  .be  all  in  all.'  "  Dogmatism  on 
such  a  subjeft,  what  ought  to  be  said  of  it  ?  Nothing 
here  and  now.  Few  sadder  things  have  occurred  in  the 
history  of  the  human  race,  than  the  divisions  and  bitter 
strifes  among  Christ's  disciples,  that  have  grown  out  of 
futile  attempts  to  explain  an  unspeakable  mystery;  and 
the  controversy  may,  we  think,  be  fitly  and  indefinitely 
postponed.  Within  the  circle  of  our  own  human  sympa- 
thies, Jesus  meets  us,  and  weeps  with  us,  and  is  "a  man 
of  sorrows,"  but  we  immediately  perceive  that  his  nature 
passes  on  beyond  our  nature,  and  over  into  the  Infinite, 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


and  we  not  only  trust  without  limit,  but  adore.  "Who 
by  searching  can  find  out  God?  Who  can  know  the  Al- 
mighty to  perfetlion?  "  * 

They  who,  by  faith,  dwell  in  Immanuel's  land,  are 
like  those  who  would  inhabit  a  small  island  far  out  in  mid- 
ocean.  They  have  the  glorious  heavens  over  them;  they 
live  amid  beauty,  and  verdure,  and  bloom,  and  fragrance, 
and  fruit;  their  groves  are  vocal,  and  their  fields  yield  a 
hundred-fold;  they  have  all  things  richly  to  enjoy.  But 
they  have  no  line  with  which  to  take  the  soundings  of 
the  deep  sea  that  surrounds  them,  and  they  can  see  but  a 
little  way  out  over  the  heaving  waters.  Beyond  the  line 
that  bounds  their  vision  all  is  mystery.  Balmy  breezes 
come  to  them  across  the  deep,  they  know  not  whence,  but 


*"He  who  dwells  in  infinity  is  at  once  a  God  who  reveals  and  a  God 
who  conceals  himself.  We  can  know,  but  we  can  know  only  in  part.  The 
knowledge  which  we  can  attain  is  the  clearest  and  yet  the  obscurest  of  all 
our  knowledge.  A  child,  a  savage,  can  acquire  a  certain  acquaintance  with 
him,  while  neither  sage  nor  angel  can  rise  to  a  full  comprehension  of  him. 
God  may  be  truly  described  as  the  Being  of  whom  we  know  the  most,  in- 
asmuch as  his  works  are  ever  pressing  themselves  upon  our  attention,  and 
we  behold  more  of  his  ways  than  of  the  ways  of  any  other;  and  yet  he 
is  the  Being  of  whom  we  know  the  least,  inasmuch  as  we  know  compara- 
tively less  of  his  whole  nature  than  we  do  of  ourselves,  or  of  our  fellow- 
men,  or  of  any  object  falling  under  our  senses.  They  who  know  the  least 
of  him  have,  in  this,  the  most  valuable  of  all  knowledge;  they  who  know 
the  most  know  but  little,  after  all,  of  his  glorious  perfeftions.  Let  us  prize 
what  knowledge  we  have,  but  feel,  meanwhile,  that  our  knowledge  is  com- 
parative ignorance.  They  who  know  little  of  him  may  feel  as  if  they  knew 
much ;  they  who  know  much  will  always  feel  that  they  know  but  little. 
The  most  limited  knowledge  of  him  should  be  felt  to  be  precious,  but  this 
mainly  as  an  encouragement  to  seek  knowledge  higher  and  yet  higher,  with- 
out limit  and  without  end.  They  who  in  earth  or  heaven  know  the  most, 
know  that  they  know  but  little  after  all;  but  they  know  that  they  may 
know  more  and  more  of  him  throughout  eternal  ages." — McCosh,  "Intui- 
tions of  the  Mind." 


114 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


they  are  full  of  health  and  fragrance.  Shall  they  dwell 
together  in  peace  and  love,  and  enjoy  together  the  varied 
beauties  and  bounties  of  their  island  home?  or  shall  they 
quarrel  and  strive  endlessly  about  what  may  be  the  depth 
of  the  surrounding  sea,  and  what  may  be  beyond  it?  It 
were  well  could  God's  people  remember  always  that  now 
we  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  that  we  know  but  in  part, 
that  we  walk  by  faith.  In  religion,  faith  is  philosophy; 
obedience,  the  perfedlion  of  science. 

I.  We  propose  now,  by  citing  a  few  of  the  declarations 
made  by  the  Savior  concerning  himself,  to  determine  what 
were  his  own  conceptions  of  his  relations  to  the  race  he 
came  to  save.  We  say  a  few  of  these  declarations,  for 
Jesus  spoke  very  often  of  himself^  a  circumstance  which  seems 
not  to  have  received  the  attention  its  deep  significance  de- 
mands. 

I .  fesus  claimed  to  be  the  teacher,  the  leader,  and  the  guide 
of  mankind. 

"  Come  to  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and 
I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn 
of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  of  heart,  and  you  shall 
find  rest  to  your  souls."  (Matt,  xi.)  In  this  declaration, 
this  most  affeding  invitation,  of  the  beauty  and  gracious- 
ness  of  which  we  are  not  able  to  speak,  Jesus  certainly 
makes  himself  the  first  and  the  last.  Is  it  not  singular 
that  though  the  Savior  so  often  speaks  of  himself,  yet 
nothing  hesays  has  the  appearance  of  egotism?  "Never 
man  spake  as  he  spake."  The  sentences  above  quoted 
are  every  way  most  wonderful,  if  we  well  consider  them. 
Here  is  a  very  poor  and  very  friendless  young  man,  who 
had  been  brought  up  in  an  obscure  village  of  Galilee, 
proverbial  for  the  meanness  of  its  general  circumstances, 
declaring  that  he  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  yet  pro- 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


"5 


posing  to  give  rest  to  the  souls  of  the  laboring  and  heavy 
laden,  if  they  would  come  to  him  and  learn  of  him.  Let 
us  try  clearly  to  apprehend  the  peculiarity  of  the  case. 
Suppose  an  uneducated,  poor,  and  friendless  young  man, 
from  one  of  our  obscure,  disreputable,  out-of-t'ie-way 
towns,  were  to  come  here  to  Lexington,  Kentucky,  in  one 
of  these  passing  weeks,  and  gathering  about  him  some 
hundreds  of  poor  men  and  women,  should  propose  to  give 
them  rest  to  their  weary,  disquieted  souls,  what  would  be 
thought  of  him  ?  He  would  be  regarded  as  an  amiable, 
sorrowful  lunatic,  and  some  humane  person  would  have 
him  placed  in  an  asylum.  But  Jesus  was  not  a  lunatic.  / 
defy  you  to  think  so.  And  if  not,  then  is  he  all  that  he  claimed 
to  be;  then  is  he  "the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  and  we  are 
all  of  us  on  our  way  to  his  judgment-seat.  "If  weak  thy 
faith,  why  choose  the  harder  side  ? "  "  What  think  you  of 
Christ?" 

1.  Jesus  proposed  himself  as  the  object  of  the  faith  by 
which  sinners  are  to  be  saved. 

"  God  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whoever  believes 
in  him  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting 
life.  This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  you  believe  on  him, 
whom  he  hath  sent.  The  Messiah  cometh  which  is  called 
Christ :  Jesus  said  unto  her,  /  that  speak  to  thee  am  he. 
Jesus  said  unto  him.  Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of 
God  ^  He  it  is  that  talketh  with  thee."  There  is  some- 
thing in  this  constant  recurrence  of  the  Great  Teacher  to 
himself  that  demands  our  closest  attention.  No  one,  as 
before  observed,  can  regard  this  as  egotism.  Every  reader 
of  the  New  Testament /^d-Zr  that  it  behooved  Jesus  thus 
to  press  his  claims.  The  world  could  not  be  saved  by 
philosophers.    It  needed  that  One  of  infinite  perfections 


ii6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


should  dwell  among  us  and  show  us  the  Father — one 
whom  all  can  trust  without  limit,  in  whom  they  can  be- 
lieve *'with  all  the  heart."  Though  Jesus  was,  indeed, 
"meek  and  lowly  of  heart,"  and  though  he  had  not  where 
to  lay  his  head,  yet,  whenever  he  would  win  the  heart  of 
man  to  holiness  and  to  God,  he  spoke  of  himself  as  being 
the  objed  of  faith. 

3.  As  Jesus  proposes  himself  as  the  objed  of  faith,  so 
he  constitutes  himself  the  subject  of  the  confession  of  faith. 

Under  circumstances  of  extreme  personal  peril,  Jesus 
"witnessed  a  good  confession,"  and  he  was  himself  the 
subjeftof  it.  "The  high-priest  asked  him,  Art  thou  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Blessed.''  And  Jesus  answered,  I 
am."  (Mark  xiv.)  Wonder  not,  then,  that  he  requires  the 
same  confession  from  all  who  would  hope  in  hrs  mercy. 
"Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him 
will  I  confess  also  before  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven; 
but  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also 
deny  before  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven."  (Matt,  x.)  This 
makes  the  controversy  which  Jesus  has  with  the  human 
race  not  a  dodlrinal,  but  a  personal  controversy,  so  to 
speak,  and  it  becomes  infinitely  serious.  Men  may  not 
be  obliged  to  accept  any  given  interpretations  of  a  chap- 
ter in  the  letter  to  the  Romans,  or  in  the  Apocalypse. 
The  primary  question  is  not  concerning  doilrines,  but 
concerning  Jesus.  "Who  do  you  say  that  I  the  son  of 
man  am?  Peter  answered,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God.  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  ;  on  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it."  It  is  blessed,  then,  to  confess 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God;  and 
on  this  all-comprehensive  truth  Jesus  builds  his  Church. 
Thus  do  we  see  that  in  the  apprehension  of  the  Redeemer 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


117 


he  is  the  subjed  of  the  confession  of  Christian  faith,  and 
he  has  given  us  the  form  of  words  in  which  that  confes- 
sion is  to  be  made.  Should  any  one  objedt  that  the 
"form  of  sound  words"  in  which  "the  good  confession" 
is  appointed  to  be  made,  is  susceptible  of  various  inter- 
pretations, our  reply  is:  So  is  any  form  of  words  ^  and  espe- 
cially any  that  the  wisdom  of  man  may  devise.  Indeed, 
from  of  old,  on  all  the  deeper  things  of  God,  theologians 
have  found  it  needful  to  comment  on  their  own  commen- 
taries, and  to  explain  their  own  explanations.  "What 
think  you  of  Christ.?"  Is  he,  indeed,  "the  Son  of  the 
living  God?" 

4,  Jesus  claimed  for  himself  the  supreme  love  of  mankind. 

We  are  not  here  arguing  that  men  ought  to  believe  in 
Jesus,  that  they  ought  to  confess  and  love  him,  but  that 
he  himself  so  taught.  In  all  things  he  claims  the  pre- 
eminence. "  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than 
me,  is  not  worthy  of  me,  and  he  that  loveth  son  or  daugh- 
ter more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me."  (Matt,  x.)  "  If 
any  man  come  to  me,  and  (comparatively)  hate  not  his 
father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren, 
and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  can  not  be  my 
disciple."  (Luke  xiv.)  This  is  decisive  on  this  point. 
Jesus  must  be  first  in  the  heart's  affections,  or  he  will  not 
be  there  at  all.  And  in  this  appointment  of  God  does 
not  a  Divine  philosophy  shine  forth  upon  us?  What  so 
powerfully  and  constantly  controls  human  life  as  the  love 
of  friends,  living  or  dead?  How  hopeless  would  be  the 
prospers  of  the  human  race  if  the  duties  of  life  were  to 
be  performed  only  under  the  guidance  of  moral  philoso- 
phy! What  philosophy  could  bind  the  mother,  through 
days  and  nights  of  weariness,  to  the  cradle  of  her  helpless 
infant?    What  formula  of  duty  wou'd  nerve  the  arm  of 


ii8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  poor  father  as  he  toils  ceaselessly,  through  the  heats 
of  summer  and  the  frosts  of  winter,  that  his  home  may 
be  one  of  comfort?  Love  is  more  than  dogma,  more  than 
philosophy.  The  wayward  youth,  far  from  the  home  of  his 
innocent  childhood,  still  remembers  the  tender  accents  of 
a  mother's  or  a  sister's  voice,  and  weeps.  They  incessantly 
call  him  away  from  his  follies  and  his  crimes,  and,  from 
beyond  the  grave,  they  invite  him  to  the  Fountain  opened 
for  sin.  These  sad,  sweet  memories  of  the  loved  and  lost 
are  often  more  powerful  for  good  than  is  the  rhetoric  or 
logic  of  the  pulpit.  The  remembered  wishes  of  friends 
that  have  passed  the  Jordan,  how  they  wrap  themselves 
about  the  heart !  And  what  can  be  said  of  the  remembered 
wishes  (shall  we  say?)  of  the  blessed  Jesus?  Shall  not  the 
consideration  that  he  who  has  done  every  thing  for  us, 
directs  and  invites  us  to  a  given  course  of  life,  be  omnijj- 
otent  ?    Yes,  if  we  love  him^  we  will  keep  his  commandments. 

Alas  for  us!  we  find  it,  perhaps,  much  easier  to  love 
our  party,  our  church,  and  its  forms  and  its  policies,  than 
to  love  the  Lord  that  bought  us.  How  many  of  those 
in  all  lands,  who  have  professed  to  believe  in  Jesus,  can 
go  out  under  the  starlit  sky  in  the  solemn  night,  and,  look- 
ing up  toward  heaven,  say  with  penitent  Peter:  "Lord 
Jesus,  thou  knowest  all  things;  thou  knowest  that  I  love 
thee?" 

Men  can  do  but  little,  except  as  mere  partisans,  under 
the  influence  of  dogmas,  whether  religious,  political,  or 
moral;  but  the  love  of  country,  the  love  of  mankind,  the 
love  of  family,  above  all,  the  love  of  Jesus,  what  can  not 
be  achieved  under  its  influence?  Even  an  enemy  can  be 
forgiven,  and  fed,  and  clothed  for  Jesus's  sake.  His  poor 
disciples  can  be  sustained  and  comforted,  because  he  asks 
it  of  us  as  if  it  were  for  himself.    Men  and  women,  too, 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


119 


can  go  cheerfully  to  the  very  ends  of  the  eartn  to  seek 
the  lost,  and  to  tell  them  of  God's  great  love  for  a  sinful 
race,  because  Jesus  commands  it,  and  we  can  not  deny  him. 
Love  is  greater  than  faith,  for  the  faith  that  overcomes 
the  world  must  work  by  love.  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling 
of  the  law,  and  he  that,  dwells  in  love,  dwells  in  God  and 
God  in  him,  for  God  is  love."  When  love  for  Christ 
shall  so  possess  the  hearts  of  his  people  as  to  be  ever  the 
regulating  influence  of  their  lives,  then  will  the  day  of 
millennial  glory  break,  then  will  Zion  rise  and  shine,  then 
will  the  Church  go  forth  to  the  speedy  conquest  of  the 
world.  Meanwhile,  he  who  shall  set  himself  to  keep  the 
commandments  of  God  without  being  constrained  thereto 
by  the  love  of  Christ,  will  surely  fail.  And  is  not  Jesus, 
the  meek  and  lowly  One,  is  he  not  "the  chief  among  the 
ten  thousand,  and  the  one  altogether  lovely } "  What 
think  you  of  Christ.''  Is  he  not  worthy  the  adoring  love 
of  all  hearts  ? 

5.  Jesus  claimed  Divine  honors. 

"For  the  Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed 
all  judgments  unto  the  Son,  that  all  men  should  honor 
the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father.  He  that  honor- 
eth  not  the  Son,  honoreth  not  the  Father  who  hath  sent 
him."  And  should  any  poor  sinner  be  staggered  at  this? 
If  so,  we  remand  him  to  "the  testimony  that  God  has 
given  of  his  Son."  True,  indeed,  the  humiliation  of  Je- 
sus was  infinite.  "  He  took  not  on  himself  the  nature  of 
angels,  but  the  seed  of  Abraham;  for  in  all  things  it  be- 
hooved him  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren,  that  he 
might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  high-priest  in  things  per- 
taining to  God,  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the 
people."  But  because  of  this  humiliation,  because,  "be- 
ing in  the  form  of  God,  he  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 


I20 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


equal  with  God,  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and 
took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  became  obe- 
dient unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,"  on  this 
very  account  "  God  has  highly  exalted  him,  and  given 
him  a  name  that  is  above  every  name,  that  at  the  name 
of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and 
things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father."  (Phil,  ii.)  We  need  not  fear 
to  go  where  God  direfts,  and  if  he  has  appointed  all  the 
angels  to  worship  his  Son,  sinners  for  whom  he  died  may 
"honor  him,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father." 

6.  Jesus  required  that  mankind  should  serve  and  obey  him. 

"If  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  my 
love.  Ye  are  my  friends,  if  ye  do  whatever  /  commana 
you.  If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments.  He  that 
has  my  commandments  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that 
loveth  me."  These  citations  must  suffice.  In  varied 
forms  of  words,  Jesus  claims  to  be  a  leader  and  com- 
mander of  the  people.  The  government  is  on  his  shoul- 
der, and  he  declares  that  all  authority  in  heaven  and  on 
earth  has  been  given  to  him.  His  apostle  declares  that 
"  he  has  become  the  Author  of  eternal  salvation  to  al 
them  that  ohey  him." 

If  we  have  rightly  apprehended  the  import  of  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus,  then  does  he  make  himself  the  objed:  of  the 
faith  that  brings  the  sinner  to  God;  he  aims  constantly 
to  make  men  his  own  disciples;  he  requires  men  to  con- 
fess, to  honor,  to  love,  and  to  obey  him.  This  is  re- 
ligion— the  religion  of  the  New  Testament — and  nothing 
else  is. 

And  here  we  must  close  this  very  imperfecfl  survey  of 
these  most  fundamental  and  essential  instrudions.  We 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


121 


say  imperfe£},  for  much  less  than  a  tithe  of  what  Jesus  said 
of  himself  has  been  cited.  Without  any  marked  order, 
however,  we  quote  a  few  additional  sayings  of  the  great 
Teacher,  some  metaphorical,  some  literal,  but  all  of 
widest,  deepest  significance,  and  all  illustrating  and  con- 
firming our  general  proposition,  namely,  that,  in  the  ap- 
prehension of  Jesus,  he  was  himself  the  beginning  and 
the  end  of  his  religion,  objedlively  considered. 

I.  "I  am  come  a  light  into  the  world,  that  whosoever 
believeth  on  me  should  not  abide  in  darkness."  i.  "I 
am  the  good  Shepherd,  and  give  my  life  for  the  sheep"  3. 
"No  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  me."  4.  "I  am 
the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life."  5.  "I  am  the  re- 
surredtion  and  the  life."  6.  "All  that  are  in  their  graves 
shall  hear  his  voice  and  come  forth,  they  that  have  done 
good  to  the  resurredlion  of  life,  and  they  that  have  done 
evil  to  the  resurredlion  of  damnation."  7.  "The  Son  of 
man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  before  him 
shall  be  gathered  all  nations,  and  he  shall  separate  them 
one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from 
the  goats."  But  we  desist.  According  to  these  most 
wonderful  declarations,  Jesus  makes  himself  King,  Priest, 
Sacrifice  for  sin,  Guide  of  the  world.  Judge  of  all  nations. 
What  think  ye  of  Christ? 

II.  All  that  Jesus  declared  of  himself,  as  to  his  nature, 
offices,  and  work,  is,  in  various  forms  of  words,  reiterated 
by  his  inspired  apostles  and  evangelists  in  both  their 
preaching  and  teaching. 

I.  "Go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature."  Such  was,  in  brief,  the  great  commission  un- 
der which  the  apostles  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  "to  call  men  from  darkness  to  light,  that  they 
might  be  translated  from  the  kingdom,  of  Satan  into  th^ 


122 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son."    Let  the  earnest  inquirer  af- 
ter the  "truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus"  carefully  read  the  inspired 
discourses  recorded  in  the  Ads  of  Apostles.    Take,  as 
specimens,  the  second,  tenth,  and  thirteenth  chapters. 
"Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  buried,  risen,_ ascended,  and 
seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  constitutes  the 
burden  of  the  apostolic  proclamation.    They  "preached 
Jesus"  to  Jew  and  Gentile,  and  testified  that  ''through  his 
name  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should  receive  the  re- 
mission of  sins."    The  "evolution  of  doftrines"  had  not 
then  been  begun ;  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus  were  one ;  and  "  mightily  grew  the  word  of  the  Lord 
and  prevailed."    With  the  evolution  of  dodrines  began 
the  evolution  of  seds,  and  they  must  continue  to  evolve 
and  to  revolve  till  all  shall  have  returned  to  the  ancient 
paths,  till  all  shall  perceive  that  the  truth  concerning  the 
Christ,  framcally  accepted,  is  the  sum  of  all  truth  essen- 
tial to  Christian  life  and  Christian  fraternization.  When 
we  shall  have  closed  our  examination  of  the  "sermons" 
of  the  apostles,  the  great,  primary,  all-comprehending  in- 
quiry is.  still  with  us,  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?" 

2.  Our  citations  from  the  apostolic  letters  must  be  few 
Indeed,  were  all  that  is  there  declared  of  the  nature,  dig- 
nity, offices,  and  work  of  Jesus  taken  away,  a  few  shred, 
only  would  remain,  and  these  would  be  meaningless. 

I.  ''Jesus  must  reign  till  he  has- put  all  enemies  undei 
his  feet."  2.  "We  have  a  high-priest  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  throne  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens;  his  priest 
hood  is  unchangeable,  everlasting.  Jesus  ever  lives  to 
make  intercession  for  us,  being  the  Mediator  of  the  new 
covenant."  3.  "He  is  made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  right- 
eousness, and  sanftification,  and  redemption,  and  by  him  we 
draw  nigh  to  God."    4-  "  We  are  redeemed  by  the  preciou 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


123 


blood  of  Christy  and  he  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all 
that  come  to  God  by  him."  5.  "The  Church  is  the  body 
of  Christy  and  if  any  man  have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he 
is  none  of  his."  6.  "If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  let  him  be  anathema."  7.  "  He  has  left  us  an  exam- 
ple that  we  should  follow  his  steps."  8.  "Jesus  will  judge 
the  living  and  the  dead  at  his  appearing  and  kingdom." 
Thus  by  the  hour  might  we  repeat  the  declarations  of 
apostles,  in  which  they  have  exhausted  the  capacity  of  lit- 
eral and  metaphorical  language  to  express  the  glory,  the 
grandeur,  the  majesty  of  Christ.  In  x\\€\x  teaching,  assur- 
edly, he  is  the  first,  and  the  midst,  and  the  last.  Truly 
God's  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts,  nor  his  ways  our 
ways  ;  for  it  hath  pleased  him,  through  the  foolishness 
of  preaching  [Jesus],  to  save  them  that  believe.  At  the 
close  of  our  readings  of  the  apostles'  letters,  the  question 
still  returns,  if  possible,  with  increased  force,  "What  think 
you  of  Christ?" 

III.  The  "ordinances"  of  the  Christian  religion — the 
Lord' 5  Day,  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  Baptism — declare  the 
Gospel.  They  preach  Jesus,  and  derive  all  their  significance 
and  value  from  their  relations  to  him.  Let  us  not  suppose 
that  this  is  accidental. 

I.  What  means  the  general  stillness  of  the  Lord's-day 
morning,  as,  in  the  round  of  the  weeks,  it  breaks  over 
Christian  lands?  The  engine  has  ceased  to  pufF,  the  rat- 
tle of  machinery  is  stopped.  No  teams  are  being  driven 
afield,  but  the  unyoked  cattle  rest  in  the  stalls,  or  repose 
at  will  in  the  green  pastures.  There  is  an  unusual  quiet 
in  most  households,  for  they  feel  that  the  day  is  hallowed. 
The  places  of  merchandise  are  closed,  and  busy  trade 
pauses  to  breathe.  The  poor  man  looks  joyfully  on  the 
morning  of  this  day,  for  he,  too,  may  rest,  and  sing,  and 


124 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


be  glad.  The  bells  ring  out  at  length,  to  tell  that  the  hour 
of  prayer  has  come;  and  the  rich  and  the  poor  together, 
the  father,  and  mother,  and  children,  and  servants  pass 
quietly  along  the  streets  or  the  country  highways  to  their 
chosen  shrines.  Touching  and  beautiful  is  this,  but  why 
is  it A  voice  comes  down  through  the  centuries — thje 
voice  of  inspiration,  the  voice  of  angels,  the  voice  of  God, 
— saying,  "Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  be- 
come the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept."  This  oracle  ex- 
plains it  all.  As  Jesus  died  for  our  sins,  so  did  he  rise 
for  our  justification.  "The  first  day  of  the  week"  hath 
this  inscription  :  "  Sacred,  evermore,  to  the  memory  of 
the  resurredion  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  from  among  the 
dead."  It  celebrates  the  triumph  of  the  sinner's  Friend 
over  death  and  the  grave,  and  thus  preaches  one  great  item 
of  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  Ah,  ye  sorrowful  ones, 
who,  in  garments  of  woe,  and  with  heavy-laden  hearts,  go 
up  on  this  day  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  cling  to  the  faith 
of  Christ's  resurreftion,  for  if  he  rose  not,  then  all  faith 
is  vain,  we  are  all  in  our  sins,  and  our  dear  ones  gone, 
whom  we  had  hoped  to  see  again,  are  perished  forever. 
No  speculations,  no  philosophy  can  help  us  here.  If  Jesus 
does  not  come  again  to  this  earth,  the  dead  will  never  rise  out  of 
their  graves.  But  the  first  day  of  every  week  proclaims  to 
all  the  ages  that  Jesus  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  as  he 
himself  said,  and  that  the  dead  will  one  day  hear  his  voice 
and  come  forth — that  "spring  shall  yet  visit  the  molder- 
ing  urn,  and  the  morning  of  an  eternal  day  break,  at  last, 
on  the  darkness  of  the  tomb."  "  O  Death,  where  now 
thy  sting?  O  Grave,  where  now  thy  victory?  The  sting 
of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law,  but 
thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  vidory  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


125 


1.  "On  the  first  day  of  the  week  the  disciples  came  to- 
gether to  break  bread — to  eat  the  Lord's  supper."  The- 
appointments  are  the  simplest — a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  cup 
of  wine,  but  they  signify  much,  even  this :  "Jesus  died  for 
our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures."  The  "  Man  of  Sor- 
rows" ordained  that  his  disciples  should  thus  show  forth 
his  death,  until  he  shall  come.  "The  bread — is  it  not  the 
communion  of  the  body  of  Christ?  The  cup — is  it  not 
the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ? "  (iCor.x.)  "Do 
this,"  said  the  sorrow-laden  Jesus,  "do  this  m  remembrance 
of  me."  Was  there  in  his  nature,  too,  what  we  find  in  our 
own — a  desire  not  to  be  forgotten  ?  However  this  may 
be,  he  knew  how  important  it  is  that  his  disciples  should 
keep  in  memory  the  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  them, 
that  they  should  often  think  of  Gethsemane,  of  the  agony 
and  bloody  sweat,  of  the  crown  of  thorns',  of  Calvary  and 
the  Cross,  and  of  that  cry  which  was  wrung  from  the  break- 
ing heart  of  the  smitten  Shepherd  :  "  My  God  !  my  God ! 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  By  means  of  the  "Sup- 
per" we  go  back  over  the  centuries,  and  look  upon  the 
"  Lamb  of  God,  as  he  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on 
the  tree,"  and  we  say,  it  is  enough — God  has,  indeed,  loved 
the  world,  sin,ce  Jesus  died  to  save  it.  "  O  Lamb  of  God, 
was  ever  pain,  was  ever  love  like  thine?" 

3.  "  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Spirit."  In  obedience  to  this  commandment  of 
Jesus,  the  apostles  baptized  all  who  yielded  to  their  preaching. 
It  is,  perhaps,  worthy  of  remark  that  baptism  is  the  only 
adl  that  can  be  performed,  in  which  the  name  of  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit  may  be  called  by  Divine  authority.  It 
becomes,  in  view  of  this  fadt,  a  sublime,  and  even  an  aw- 
ful solemnity.    But  what  is  its  significance?    Even  this: 


126 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  believing  penitent  is  baptized  into  the  death  of  Christ 
he  is  "  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death ;"  he  is  "  bap- 
tized into  Christ,  and  thus  puts  on  Christ.''  (Rom.  vi.) 
We  cite  no  other  Scriptures;  it  were  needless  to  do  so. 
In  this  institution,  whose  very  form  sets  forth  a  burial 
and  a  resurredion,  the  sinner  puts  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  and, 
through  his  name,  obtains  remission  of  sins.  Thus  do  the 
ordinances  of  the  Gospel  preach  Jesus  crucified,  buried, 
and  risen,  and  derive  all  their  significance  and  efficacy  from 
their  relations  to  him.    ^^What  think  you  of  Christ?" 

Finally :  God  has  placed  before  a  sinful  world,  for  its  faith, 
its  love,  and  its  obedience,  ?l  person  wearing  human  nature, 
and  bearing  its  infirmities,  yet  possessingdivine  and  infinite 
perfedlions  and  attributes.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  a  his- 
toric personage,  whose  individuality,  so  to  speak,  is  marked 
with  wonderful  clearness.  His  manner  of  teaching — the 
things  taught,  as  well  as  his  beautiful  life,  are  altogether 
peculiar,  single,  alone.  The  New  Testament  is  the  mir- 
acle of  literature.  In  the  person  and  claims  of  Jesus  our 
faith  is  demanded ;  for  his  divinely-beautiful  charadter  our 
all-trusting,  adoring  love  is  asked.  The  commandments 
of  Jesus  are  not  dodlrines,  but  plain  rules  of  life,  of  ac- 
tion, to  which  submission  is  required.  These  three  things : 
faith  in  Jesus,  the  love  of  Jesus,  and  obedience  to  Jesus, 
as  Lord  of  all,  constitute  the  Christian  religion,  and  are 
possible  to  the  poor  and  to  the  unlearned,  as  well  as  to 
the  wealthy  and  the  wise.  Not  so  with  theology,  with 
scientific  Christianity,  about  which  most  religious  con- 
troversies arise,  and  which  constitute  the  foundations  of 
religious  se6ts,  regarded  as  such  merely.  Touching  the 
commands  of  the  blessed  Redeemer,  we  may  say,  it  is  not 
easy  for  the  honest-hearted  seriously  to  mistake  them. 
The  general  import  of  the  whole  is,  as  illustrated  by  his 


L.  L.  PINKERTON. 


127 


own  beautiful,  Divine  life,  "to  do  justly,  to  love  mercy, 
and  to  walk  humbly  with  God."  This  is  orthopraxy,  with- 
out which  orthodoxy  is  but  an  impertinence  and  a  cheat. 

Complainings,  on  all  sides,  of  the  want  of  earnest  relig- 
ious living  have  become  chronic.  The  general  tone  of 
religious  life  will  not  be  improved  till  God's  people  shall 
come  to  apprehend  with  greater  clearness,  and  to  feel  with 
far  deeper  intensity,  the  claims  of  their  Redeemer  on  their 
afFedlions,  until  they  shall  love  him  more  than  they  love 
wealth,  and  friends,  and  life — until  the  love  of  Christ  shall 
constrain  them.  Religious  partyism  has  long  been  the 
opprobrium  of  the  Church.  The  Church  will  never  be 
united  in  "dodrines"  of  any  kind.  She  must  be  one  in 
Christ  Jesus,  or  divide  still  more,  and  remain  divided  till 
the  Lord  shall  come. 

Jesus  is  with  the  sinner  in  his  first  faint  glimmerings  of 
faith;  he  is  before  him,  the  embodiment  of  infinite  sorrow 
and  of  infinite  love,  when  alone  he  heaves  the  first  sigh  of 
penitence;  he  is  in  his  heart  when,  before  men,  he  makes 
confession  unto  salvation ;  the  penitent  clings  by  faith  to  the 
Cross  when  he  is  buried  with  his  Lord  in  baptism ;  when,  as 
a  child  of  God,  he  takes  his  seat  at  the  table  of  the  Lord, 
Jesus  lifts  up  his  bleeding  hands  before  him,  and  says: 
"Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me."  When  he  bows  the 
knee  in  prayer,  he  remembers  that  Jesus  ever  lives  to  in- 
tercede for  him;  in  hours  of  calamity,  he  finds  support  in 
the  words  of  Jesus:  "Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,  you 
believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me."  When  his  heart  sinks 
in  view  of  death  and  the  grave,  he  remembers  the  words 
of  the  Savior  :  "  I  am  the  resurreftion  and  the  life;  he  that 
believeth  in  me,  though  he  die,  yet  shall  he  live  again;" 
and  he  remembers  that  Jesus  will  be  his  Judge  in  the  last 
terrible  solemnity  in  the  history  of  the  human  race.  From 


128 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  lips  of  Jesus  shall  fall  a  sentence  that  shall  raise  the 
redeemed  to  heights  of  inconceivable  glory,  and  a  sentence 
that  shall  banish  his  enemies,  those  that  deny  him,  "into 
everlasting  fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels." 
From  these  sentences  there  can  be  no  appeal  for  evermore. 
The  Lamb  of  God  will  lead  his  people  to  fountains  of  liv- 
ing water  in  the  abodes  of  immortality,  while  his  redeem- 
ing love  shall  forever  constitute  the  theme  of  their  loftiest 
anthems. 

The  sum  is  this:  Instead  of  abstradl,  scientific  formu- 
las, God  has  given  us  every  thing  in  the  concrete.  He  has 
embodied  for  us,  so  to  speak,  in  the  person  and  charadler 
of  Jesus,  his  own  idea  of  human  life,  rendered  divine,  and 
has  revealed  the  divine  through  the  human.  Instead  of 
"doftrines"  he  offers  to  us  a  mysterious  person,  who  draws 
the  hearts  of  men  to  him  because  he  is  their  brother,  and 
who,  at  the  same  time  commands  their  devotion,  because 
he  is  "  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God."  O,  ineffable 
"mystery  of  godliness,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh." 

Our  controversy,  then,  if  we  have  one,  is  not  with  "the 
Church,"  nor  our  chief  concern  with  " do^rines"  and  re- 
ligious philosophies,  but  with  Him  who  is  "the  first  and 
the  last,  who  was  dead,  but  is  alive  again  for  evermore,  and 
who  has  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death."  What  think  ye 
of  Christ?  "  Blessed  are  they  who  do  his  commandments, 
that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter 
in  through  the  gates  into  the  city."  Amen. 


JAMES  CHALLEN. 


T7*EW  preachers  among  the  Disciples  are  better  known  than  the  subjeft 
-'■  of  this  sketch.  Early  in  the  beginning  of  the  current  Reformation,  he 
became  identified  with  its  fortunes,  and  has  remained  a  firm  and  consistent 
advocate  of  its  principles  till  the  present  time.  Although  considerably  ad- 
vanced in  years,  he  has  not  laid  aside  the  armor,  but  is  still  preaching,  with 
great  acceptance  to  the  Church,  at  Davenport,  Iowa. 

James  Challen  was  born  in  Hackensack,  New  Jersey,  January  7,  1802, 
His  parents  were  from  England,  and  emigrated  to  this  country  soon  after 
the  War  of  Independence.  His  father  was  a  Methodist,  and  his  mother  a 
Baptist,  and  this  led  him  to  examine  the  Word  of  God  for  himself.  The 
result  of  this  examination  was  the  acceptance  of  the  religious  position  which 
he  now  occupies,  and  in  defense  of  which  he  has  given  the  greater  part  of 
his  life. 

He  confessed  the  Savior,  and  was  immersed  under  the  ministry  of  Dr. 
James  Fishback,  of  Lexington,  Kentucky,  on  the  1 8th  day  of  January,  1 823, 
and  united  with  the  Baptist  Church,  of  which  Dr.  Fishback  was  pastor. 
He  soon  commenced  preaching,  but,  feeling  the  necessity  of  a  more  thor- 
ough preparation  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  he  entered  Transylvania 
University,  with  the  view  to  obtain  a  first-class  education.  While  in  the 
junior  class  of  that  institution,  he  was  called  to  the  charge  of  the  Enon 
Baptist  Church,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  which  he  accepted,  and  entered  at  once 
upon  the  duties  of  his  new  position.  He  remained  with  this  church  till 
the  Sycamore-street  Church  was  formed.  This  last  was  composed  prin- 
cipally of  members  who  had  been  brought  in  under  his  personal  ministry ; 
consequently  were  well  instrufted  in  the  simple  truths  of  Christianity,  and 
fully  prepared  to  "take  their  stand  on  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone." 

He  was  immediately  elefted  pastor  of  the  new  church,  in  which  posi- 
tion he  was  instrumental  in  establishing  firmly  the  "Ancient  Gospel"  in 
the  Queen  City.  In  1834  removed  to  Lexington,  Kentucky,  where  he 
organized  the  church  which  exists  there  at  present.    He  remained  at  this 

9  (129) 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


point  for  several  years,  meeting  with  encouraging  success  in  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Word. 

In  1850  he  took  charge  of  the  church  in  Philadelphia,  and  spent  about 
eight  years  in  that  city.  In  i860  he  removed  to  Davenport,  Iowa,  where 
he  has  remained  ever  since. 

Brother  Challen  is  of  small  stature,  but  has  a  tough,  wiry  frame,  which 
is  capable  of  great  endurance.  He  has  a  high,  commanding  forehead,  small, 
sharp,  penetrating  eye,  and  a  mouth  that  indicates  decision  and  firmness  of 
charafter.  As  a  speaker,  he  is  pleasing  and  instrudtive;  sometimes,  forcible 
and  eloquent.  He  has  great  compass  of  voice,  and  always  speaks  with  con- 
siderable animation. 

His  literary  attainments  are  quite  respeftable,  having,  for  many  years 
past,  made  the  best  English  authors  his  constant  companions.  But  he  has 
not  pursued  this  branch  of  study  to  the  negledl  of  his  ministerial  labors — 
he  has  found  it  the  best  way  to  prepare  himself  for  his  life-work. 

He  writes  rapidly,  and  with  great  ease.  Besides  being  a  regular  con- 
tributor to  the  periodical  press  of  the  Disciples,  he  has  written  a  number 
of  useful  works,  some  of  which  have  had  considerable  circulation.  Of 
these,  we  mention  "  The  Gospel  and  its  Elements,"  "  Christian  Evidences," 
'Baptism  in  Spirit  and  in  Fire,"  "Frank  Elliot,"  and  "Christian  Morals." 
He  has  also  written  two  volumes  of  poetry :  *•  The  Cave  of  Machpelah 
and  other  Poems,"  and  "Igdrasil,  or  the  Tree  of  Existence;"  and  edited 
"  Challen's  Juvenile  Library,"  numbering  forty-one  volumes.  For  several 
years  he  published  a  monthly,  called  "  The  Ladies'  Christian  Annual,"  and 
the  "Gem,"  a  neat  and  well-condu£led  Sunday-school  paper.  His  writ- 
ings all  breathe  a  deeply-earnest  Christian  spirit,  and  leave  little  doubt  in 
the  mind  of  the  reader  concerning  the  religious  position  of  their  author. 


RECONCILIATION. 


BY  JAMES  CHALLEN. 


"And  all  things  are  of  God,  who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus 
Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation;  to-wit,  that 
God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,  not  imputing  their 
trespasses  unto  them ;  and  hath  committed  unto  us  the  word  of  reconcili- 
ation. Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  be- 
seech you  by  us :  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. 
For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin ;  that  we  might 
be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him." — 2  Cor.  v:  18-2 1. 

THAT  man  is  alienated  from  God,  and  at  enmity 
with  him,  are  truths  every-where  taught  in  the  Di- 
vine oracles ;  and  although  many  know  him  not,  and  are  liv- 
ing in  ignorance  of  what  he  has  revealed,  yet  their  whole 
moral  nature  and  life  show  aversion  to  his  government, 
and  departure  from  his  ways.  The  "carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity to  God,"  and  "the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity 
with  him."  The  Gentiles,  before  the  Gospel  was  preached 
to  them,  are  said  to  be  "  alienated  from  the  life  of  God 
through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them." 

It  is  not  necessary  that  men  shall  know  God,  or  be 
acquainted  with  his  ways,  to  be  alienated  from  him.  As 
darkness  is  opposed  to  light,  and  error  to  truth,  and  sin 
to  righteousness,  so  the  heart  and  life  of  man  are  opposed 
to  his  Maker.    "  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from 

(III) 


132 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of 
men  "  wherever  it  is  found.  His  nature  is  eternally  op- 
posed to  all  that  is  sinful. 

The  Gentiles  were  without  excuse ;  "  for  when  they 
knew  God,  they  worshiped  him  not  as  God,  neither  were 
thankful ;  but  became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their 
foolish  heart  was  darkened.  Professing  themselves  to  be 
wise,  they  became  fools,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  in- 
corruptible God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible 
man,  and  to  birds  and  tour-footed  beasts,  and  to  creeping 
things."  A  fearful  picture  is  drawn  by  the  Apostle  of  the 
charafter  and  condition  of  the  heathen  world  in  his  own 
day,  and  it  is  equally  as  true  now  as  then.  (Rom.  i :  20—32.) 

The  Jews,  who  were  blessed  with  a  verbal  revelation, 
were  equally  inexcusable  as  the  Gentiles.  Indeed,  they 
were  involved  in  deeper  guilt.  They  despised  the  riches 
of  God's  goodness,  and  forbearance,  and  long-suffering. 
They  treasured  up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  and  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God,  who  will  render  to  every  man 
according  to  his  deeds.  The  Scriptures  have  concluded 
all  men  under  sin.  This  is  the  condition  of  the  world, 
and  in  this  attitude  the  word  of  reconciliation  is  sent  us. 

The  spedacle  is  an  appalling  one.  If  the  relation  of 
man  to  man  is  one  of  enmity,  that  of  man  to  his  Maker 
is  of  a  deeper  hue.  It  is  estrangement  of  heart  and  life 
from  all  that  is  pure  and  good ;  of  hostility  to  the  spirit 
and  principles  of  his  moral  government  over  his  rational 
creation.  The  race  of  man  presents  to  angels  a  vast  ruin — 
greater  than  all  the  cities  of  dead  empires ;  a  desolation 
more  fearful  than  the  wreck  of  conquering  armies,  or  the 
waste  of  fields  and  vineyards  by  the  devouring  locusts,  01 
by  sword  and  famine. 

God  sees  all  this,  and  remembers  whence  we  have  fallen. 


JAMES  CHALLEN. 


and  what  our  sins  will  lead  to  unless  redeemed  by  the 
blood  of  his  Son ;  and  in  his  pity  and  his  mercy  he  has 
sent  us  deliverance. 

T^he  Ministry  of  Reconciliation. 

The  One  Great  Minister  sent  of  God  on  this  embassy 
of  reconciliation  is  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God.  He  is  his  special  servant  in  accomplishing  this  work. 
He  came  from  heaven  with  full  powers  to  treat  with  men 
on  this  subjed.  He  represents  all  the  dignity,  authority, 
and  glory  of  the  Father  who  sent  him  ;  and  all  the  weak- 
ness, poverty  and  suffering  of  those  he  came  to  reconcile. 
In  his  person,  we  see  all  that  is  divine  in  his  Father,  and 
all  that  is  human  in  his  mother.  He  touches  the  throne 
of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens,  and  stoops  to  the  lowest 
condition  of  our  race  upon  the  earth.  His  divinity  rises 
as  high  as  the  heaven  of  heavens — over  the  Bethlehem  in 
which,  as  a  child,  he  was  born,  and  the  Nazareth  in  which 
he  was  subjed;  to  his  parents.  The  supernatural  shines 
forth  in  every  stage  of  his  mission,  as  in  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration,  and  at  the  tomb  of  the  rich  Arimathean. 
He  unites  the  tears  of  human  sympathy  with  the  voice  of 
omnipotence,  and  walks  with  human  feet  upon  the  stormy 
Galilee,  while  he  lays  his  hand  of  might  upon  the  turbu- 
lent billows,  and  with  divine  majesty  cries,  "  Peace,  be 
still."  We  feel  no  surprise  or  astonishment  at  the  "signs 
and  wonders  "  attesting  his  mission,  as  they  seem  to  be 
the  natural  accompaniments  of  it.  They  appear  as  his 
own  and  proper  "works,"  as  fruitage  from  the  tree,  or 
grain  from  the  sower's  field,  or  words  and  deeds  from 
living  men.  His  mission  is  "the  end  of  a  boundless 
past,  the  center  of  a  boundless  present,  and  the  beginning 
of  a  boundless  future." 


134 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


His  life,  though  human,  did  not  move  on  the  plane 
of  the  world's  history.  He  stood  apart,  and  alone,  in 
the  grand  objefts  of  his  mission.  He  had  no  popular 
favor  to  seek;  no  worldly  plans  to  accomplish;  no  honors 
to  gain  ;  no  emoluments  or  earthly  ambitions  to  acquire. 
He  allied  not  himself  with  party  or  se6l ;  with  the  rich 
or  the  poor ;  with  the  Sanhedrim  or  Caesar.  He  came 
not  to  receive,  but  to  give.  He  was  of  the  race,  and  a6ted 
for  the  race.  He  came  as  the  world's  reconciler.  The 
very  conception  of  such  a  purpose  is  Divine,  and  places 
him  incomparably  above  all  who  preceded  him. 

His  mission,  though  to  "the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel,"  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  world.  Not  a  single 
nation,  but  the  whole  race,  were  the  objedls  of  his  ministry. 
He  came,  not  to  elevate  Judea  from  its  oppressed  condi- 
tion, nor  yet  to  ally  himself  with  imperial  Rome;  but  to 
gather,  out  of  the  families  and  tribes  of  earth,  a  people 
for  his  name ;  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood ; 
and  to  found  an  empire  of  redeemed,  regenerated,  and 
reconciled  subjects,  which  should  stand  forever. 

So  far  was  he  from  conciliating  the  favor  of  the  leading 
parties,  the  Pharisees,  Sadducees,  and  Herodians  forgot 
their  mutual  prejudices  in  opposinghim.  Pilate  and  Herod 
made  friends  in  plotting  his  destruction.  Both  the  ecclesi- 
astical and  political  governments  were  hostile  to  him;  and 
the  only  part  of  the  nation  that  sympathized  with  him  were 
the  poor  and  the  negleded — the  outcasts  from  society — 
"publicans  and  sinners."  His  poverty  and  pity  drew 
him  to  the  masses,  from  whom  he  could  receive  nothing; 
and  his  princely  gifts  and  his  humble  garb  attracted  their 
attention  and  won  their  confidence.  He  was  "the  Divine 
man"  for  which  the  ages  had  looked;  and  suffering  and 
sorrowing  hearts  responded  to  his  tears  and  his  words  of 


JAMES  CHALLEN. 


hope.  He  knew  that  a  man  was  greater  than  his  condi- 
tion ;  and  that  learning,  wealth,  and  position  were  but  as 
the  leaves  of  the  forest,  short-lived  and  temporary,  soon 
to  wither  and  die,  and  would  give  place  to  the  foliage 
of  returning  seasons.  His  mighty  soul  heard  the  deep 
moanings  of  the  troubled  sea  of  humanity,  and  the  wail 
of  ages  from  the  four  winds  of  heaven.  He  stood  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  race,  the  one  perfedly  developed  man ; 
the  only  full-blown  flower  on  the  stock  of  our  humanity. 
He  would  draw  all  men  to  him,  and  make  them  like  him- 
self— "  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  separate  from  sin- 
ners " — that  he  might  elevate  them  higher  than  the  heav- 
ens. Though  daily  in  contaft  with  pollution,  he  was 
never  defiled.  Though  breathing  the  tainted  atmosphere 
of  a  sinful  world,  he  was  never  infefted  with  its  poison. 
Though  walking  in  the  midst  of  guilt  and  shame,  of  pride 
and  selfishness,  he  was  proof  against  it.  With  the  world 
grown  old  in  sin  and  folly,  and  in  arms  against  him,  he 
was  not  only  able  to  meet,  but  to  conquer  it.  Great  as 
was  the  temptation  of  our  first  parents,  it  was  nothing, 
when  compared  with  what  "  the  Son  of  Man  "  endured, 
and  without  sin.  He  not  only  realized  in  person  what 
men  have  to  encounter  in  striving  for  a  purer  life,  but  he 
showed  what  latent  virtues,  and  what  powers  of  resistance 
the  soul  of  man  possesses,  and  can  summon  to  his  aid. 
His  daily  contad  with  suflFering  did  not  harden,  but  soft- 
ened his  heart.  The  greatness  of  our  guilt  and  of  our 
grief  did  not  fill  him  with  despair,  but  summoned  his 
mighty  energies  to  the  work  of  relief.  The  tears  he  shed 
at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  and  over  Jerusalem,  were  not  the 
tears  of  weakness  arising  from  the  inability  to  relieve  and 
to  conquer,  but  from  the  \yell-spring  of  sorrow,  in  view 
of  the  awful  ravages  of  human  transgression.    "The  man 


136 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  sorrows" — this  inheritor  of  human  grief — is  the  world's 
reconciler !  How  deep  thy  agony  !  how  lonely  thy  sorrow ! 
What  to  thee  was  the  crown  of  t-horns,  the  scourging  and 
the  spitting,  the  cry  of  "  Crucify  !  crucify !"  the  cross,  and 
its  shame!  These  but  poorly  represented  "the  man  of 
sorrows."  They  only  gave  outward  form  and  expression 
to  the  unutterable  burden  which  pressed  upon  his  spirit, 
in  view  of  the  ravages  of  sin  and  its  appalling  conse 
quences. 

He  saw  that  sin  had  made  the  race  "captives;"  he  came 
to  bring  them  deliverance.  They  were  condemned  crimi- 
nals ;  he  came  to  bring  them  pardon.  They  were  in  a 
state  of  rebellion;  he  came  to  bring  them  peace.  They 
were  dead;  he  was  "the  resurrection  and  the  life."  They 
were  self-destroyed;  he  brought  good  news  of  salvation. 
They  were  alienated  from  God ;  he  came  to  reconcile  them. 

It  was  the  region  of  the  shadow  of  death  into  which  he 
entered ;  the  darkness  and  bewilderment  of  the  race  were 
growing  deeper  and  deeper.  To  one  so  sensitive  to  evil, 
so  averse  to  wrong-doing,  so  perfe6tly  in  harmony  with 
God  and  all  righteousness,  so  happy  and  rich  in  the  mem- 
ories of  the  past,  so  exultant  and  joyful  in  the  hopes 
of  the  future,  pity  oppressed  him  beyond  the  claims  of 
justice,  and  mercy  rejoiced  over  the  demands  of  violated 
law.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  consciousness  of  his  abil- 
ity to  save,  the  bloody  sweat  of  Gethsemane  would  have 
been  the  baptism  of  his  life  ;  and  the  cry,  "  My  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me,"  the  death-cry  of  his  mission. 
But  "  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to  him- 
self," and  he  felt  sure  of  success;  and  "for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  and  has  taken  his  seat  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
throne  of  God." 


JAMES  CHALLEN. 


The  Ambassadors  of  Christ. 

It  was  not  the  design  of  Christ  to  leave  the  world  with- 
out selefting  suitable  persons  to  represent  his  cause,  and 
carry  out  his  gracious  purposes  in  its  reconciliation.  He 
therefore  chose  twelve  men  from  the  humble  walks  of  life, 
who  should  be  with  him  during  his  public  ministry,  and  be 
fully  taught  his  dodlrine.  In  the  early  part  of  his  labors,  he 
separated  these  men  from  the  multitude  of  disciples,  and  they 
were  constantly  with  him  in  private  and  in  public.  They 
heard  his  instruftions  to  the  people,  and  his  many  conver- 
sations with  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  others  in  Judea. 
They  heard  his  discourses  to  the  people,  and  enjoyed  the 
peculiar  advantage  of  his  private  instru6tion.  They  had 
every  opportunity  of  learning  hisways  and  knowing  his  will. 
He  kept  back  nothing  from  them.  They  saw  his  "works " 
— the  signs  and  wonders  which  he  did.  In  so  many  as- 
pe6ls  did  they  view  him,  that  it  was  impossible  for  them 
to  be  ignorant  of  his  person,  his  teaching,  or  his  claims. 
He  did  nothing  in  secret.  In  the  synagogue  and  in  the 
temple,  in  the  open  fields,  by  the  seaside,  and  in  the  des- 
ert, in  populous  cities  and  in  the  villages,  and  in  private 
houses,  they  were  his  daily  attendants.  They  saw  his 
mighty  works,  and  were  convinced  that  God  was  with  him. 
Diseases  in  every  form  departed  at  his  word.  The  lame, 
the  halt,  and  the  blind  were  healed,  and  death,  in  all  its 
stages,  acknowledged  his  power.  The  daughter  of  Jairus, 
in  youth  and  beauty  having  just  expired,  and  the  son  of 
the  widow  at  Nain,  in  the  strength  of  his  manhood,  was 
being  borne  to  the  grave,  and  at  his  will  they  are  brought 
to  life;  and  Lazarus,  a  disciple,  rapidly  dissolving  in  the 
tomb,  awoke  and  was  restored  to  his  weeping  sisters. 
These  were  the  first  precursors  of  the  mighty  demon- 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


stration  of  his  own  resurredlion.  As  we  see  him  wading 
through  the  floods  of  great  waters  to  the  mount  of  sacrifice, 
we  hear  him  saying:  "I  will  ransom  them  from  the  power 
of  the  grave;  I  will  redeem  them  from  death;  O  death,  T 
will  be  thy  plague  ;  O  grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction. " 

Jesus  had  informed  the  disciples  of  the  fadl  that  he  shouid 
die,  and  on  the  third  day  be  raised  again.  They  did  not  be- 
lieve it,  and,  even  after  his  resurredlion,  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty they  could  be  convinced  of  its  reality.  But  by  many 
infallible  proofs  he  appeared  and  satisfied  even  the  most 
incredulous  among  them.  They  saw  him,  handled  him, 
examined  his  person,  conversed  with  him,  and  enjoyed  such 
direft  and  personal  intimacy  with  him  as  to  assure  them  of 
his  identity  and  triumphs.  They  were  to  be  his  witnesses : 
"Ye  also  shall  bear  witness,  because  ye  have  been  with  me 
from  the  beginning."  In  choos;ng  an  apostle  to  fill  the 
place  of  Judas,  who  by  trangression  fell,  Peter  said  to  the 
disciples:  "Wherefore  of  these  men  who  have  companied 
with  us,  all  the  time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out 
among  us,  begininng  from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  that 
same  day  that  he  was  taken  from  us,  must  one  be  ordained 
to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  his  resurredlion."  To  be  a  wit- 
ness with  the  other  apostles  of  the  resurredion  of  Christ, 
it  was  needful  that  the  person  chosen  should  have  known 
Jesus  intimately  from  the  day  of  his  baptism  to  the  hour 
of  his  ascension.  So  much  depended  upon  this  great  dem- 
onstration, that  the  most  certain  and  unerring  testimony, 
above  all  dispute,  and  free  from  all  doubt,  must  be  af- 
forded. Jesus,  after  his  death  and  resurre6tion,  said  to 
the  apostles:  "Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  behooved 
the  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third 
day:  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  shouid 
be  preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations,  beginning  at 


JAMES  CHALLEN. 


Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  wz/w^-jj^j  of  these  things."  (Luke 
xxiv:  46—48.)  The  apostles  declare  that  they  were  "  wit- 
nesses of  all  things  that  he  did,  both  in  the  land  of  the 
Jews  and  in  Jerusalem;  whom  they  slew  and  hanged  on  a 
tree:  him  God  raised  up  the  third  day,  and  shewed  him 
openly;  not  to  all  the  people,  but  unto  witnesses  chosen 
before  of  God,  even  to  us,  who  did  eat  and  drink  with  him 
after  he  rose  from  the' dead."    (Ads  x:  39—41.) 

In  order  more  fully  to  qualify  the  apostles  for  the  work 
assigned  them,  he  promised,  in  view  of  his  departure,  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  and  the  Advocate,  to  teach 
them  all  things,  and  to  bring  all  things  to  their  remem- 
brance whatsoever  he  had  said  to  them;  and  in  addition  to 
their  testimony,  he  himself  should  testify  concerning  the 
Savior.  He  renewed  this  promise  to  them  before  his  ascen- 
sion, and  told  them  that  they  should  be  baptized  in  the 
Holy  Spirit  not  many  days  hence;  and  to  tarry  in  Jerusa- 
lem until  they  should  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high. 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  twelve,  as  ambassadors  of 
Christ,  opened  the  seals  of  their  commission,  and  spoke 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  sent  down  from  heaven.  Their  minds 
were  wholly  immersed  in  all  the  splendid  powers  of  the 
world  to  come.  They  were  brought  fully  under  the  influ- 
ence of  "the  spirit  of  Truth,"  and  being  filled  with  his 
presence,  they  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance.  Three  thousand  enemies  were 
made  friends.  The  betrayers  and  murderers  of  Christ  were 
the  first  to  be  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son. 
From  thence  they  went  through  all  Judea  and  Samaria, 
preaching  the  Word;  and  in  conneftion  with  Paul,  called 
afterward  to  be  an  apostle  and  ambassador  by  our  ascended 
Lord,  they  spread  the  knowledge  of  salvation  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth. 


I40 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


It  was  with  great  propriety  that  the  apostles  were  called 
ambassadors.  No  word  could  more  fully  set  forth  their 
work,  and  the  authority  under  which  they  adted. 

An  ambassador  is  a  special  minister,  of  the  highest  rank, 
sent  by  one  prince  or  government  to  another,  to  manage 
the  affairs  of  state.  They  are  either  ordinary  or  extraor- 
dinary. They  represent  the  authority  and  dignity  of  the 
state  that  sends  them.  In  the  Old  Testament  such  offi- 
cers are  frequently  referred  to,  and  their  functions  are 
known,  and  have  been  respefted,  in  all  ages  of  the  world. 

The  apostles  were  extraordinary  ambassadors.  They  re- 
ceived their  commission  in  person  from  their  Prince;  and 
their  names  are  mentioned  in  the  instrument  that  bears  it. 
They  brought  a  special  message  to  the  world  from  him, 
containing  the  grounds  of  reconciliation,  and  the  terms  on 
which  they  should  enjoy  it.  He  left  nothing  to  them,  but 
fully  declared  in  what  way  he  would  treat  with  an  alienated 
and  rebellious  world.  In  their  words  and  deeds  they  sat- 
isfadlorily  displayed,  through  "signs  and  wonders,"  the 
evidences  of  their  commission.  They  did  nothing  in  their 
own  name,  but  in  the  name  of  the  Prince  and  Savior  of 
the  world,  they  submitted,  in  the  most  grave  and  solem" 
manner,  the  ultimatum  of  their  sovereign  Lord.  They  won 
to  his  cause  multitudes  of  men  and  women,  and  planted 
churches  in  the  land  of  the  Jews  and  in  the  Gentile  world. 
They  fully  made  known  the  Gospel  on  every  continent 
then  known,  and  to  the  islands  of  the  seas;  and  left  on 
record,  for  all  succeeding  ages,  the  fruit  of  their  labors — the 
life  of  their  Leader  and  the  conditions  of  their  embassy. 

The  Gospel  they  preached  did  not  perish  with  them. 
It  remained  entire,  in  all  its  force  and  in  all  its  elements, 
for  succeeding  ages.  Others  were  required  by  them  to 
"  hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words  which  they  had  heard 


JAMES  CHALLEN. 


141 


from  them,  and  to  keep  that  good  thing  intrusted  to  them 
bv  the  Holy  Spirit  that  dwells  in  us."  The  things  they 
had  heard  from  the  apostles  were  to  be  "committed  to 
faithful  men,  who  should  be  able  to  teach  others  also." 
The  Church  they  established  on  the  earth  was  to  last,  with 
all  its  institutions,  until  Jesus  should  come  again.  The 
Savior  promised  that  "their  work  should  remain."  The 
terms  of  reconciliation  they  proposed  to  men  in  his  name, 
are  as  binding  now  as  they  were  then.  The  Gospel,  as  the 
incorruptible  word,  abideth  forever. 

As  the  work  of  ambassadors  in  secular  matters  is  re- 
spefted  as  sacredly  after  their  death  as  when  alive,  so  the 
work  of  the  chosen  twelve  is  of  perpetual  obligation.  The 
crowned  Prince  has  never  revoked  the  message  he  sent  by 
them,  or  superseded  their  embassy.  It  is  still  "  the  word 
of  reconciliation."  It  is  "the  word  of  faith"  to  the  un- 
believing, exhibiting  all  the  great  fads  of  the  Gospel,  its 
commands  and  promises.  It  is  "  the  word  of  truth"  from 
him  who  is  the  true  and  faithful  witness,  and  who  is  "the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life."  It  is  "the  Word  of  Life"  to 
those  who  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  from  him  who 
has  brought  "life  and  immortality  to  light."  It  is  "the 
Gospel  of  God,"  because  it  originated  with  him,  and  dis- 
plays to  us  his  unutterable  philanthropy  and  good-will. 
It  is  "the  Gospel  of  grace,"  as  it  shows  the  benignity  of 
God,  and  the  utter  helplessness  of  man.  It  is  "  the 
Gospel  of  salvation,"  as  it  shows  the  way  of  escape,  and 
gives  us  the  means  of  deliverance.  It  is  "the  Gospel  of 
peace,"  because  it  proposes  the  terms  of  reconciliation  to 
a  world  in  rebellion,  and  shows  that  every  obstacle  is  now 
removed  in  the  way  of  its  enjoyment.  This  word  of 
salvation  was  given  by  the  Father  to  his  Son,  and  by  him 
to  the  apostles,  and  by  them  to  the  world,  who  beseech 


142 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


men  in  Christ's  stead  to  be  reconciled  to  God;  for  he  has 
made  him,  who  knew  no  sin,  a  sin-ofFering  for  us,  that 
we  might  be  made  "  the  righteousness  of  God."  They 
urged  their  plea  under  the  diredion  of  him  who  had  "all 
authority  in  heaven  and  upon  earth." 

The  terms  of  reconciliation  are  an  immediate  surrender, 
"  body,  soul,  and  spirit,"  to  God,  according  to  the  Gos- 
pel they  preached.  To  believe  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God,  with  all  the  heart;  to  repent  and 
to  bring  forth  fruits  worthy  of  the  new  life  to  which  they 
are  called ;  to  confess  him  openly  before  men  as  their 
Lord  and  Christ;  and  to  be  buried  with  him  in  baptism, 
in  order  to  rise  in  that  new  kingdom  over  which  he  reigns. 
These  terms  are  enforced  by  all  the  arguments  drawn 
from  the  love  of  God,  and  the  helplessness  of  man;  from 
his  guilt,  and  exposedness  to  the  wrath  to  come;  by  the 
long-suffering  of  God  and  his  unspeakable  pity;  by  the 
gift  of  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  we  might  live  through 
him  ;  by  his  life  of  sinlessness,  of  tenderness  and  love ; 
by  his  deep  humiliation,  sufferings,  and  death ;  by  the  Cross 
and  its  agony,  the  grave  and  its  ransom ;  by  the  grace 
which  he  offers,  and  the  glories  which  he  promises;  by  the 
reconciliation  which  he  sends  us,  and  the  eternal  shame 
and  dishonor  which  await  those  who  rejedt  it. 

The  reconciliation  will  result,  finally,  not  only  in  uniting 
together  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  here  on  the  earth,  "  by 
the  blood  of  the  Cross,"  into  one  body,  but  all  things  or 
persons,  whether  in  earth  or  in  the  heavens;  "the  spirit 
of  the  just  made  perfedl"  in  all  ages;  the  redeemed  of 
God  out  of  every  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people  under  the 
whole  heaven.  Angels,  who  by  their  purity  and  holiness 
have  only  ministered  to  us  as  servants,  shall  unite  with 
us  as  friends ;  and  shall,  once  again  and  forever,  share 


JAMES  CHALLEN. 


143 


m  our  fellowship  and  partake  of  our  joys;  "that  in  the 
dispensation  of  the  fullness  of  the  times,  he  might  gather 
together  in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in 
heaven  and  on  earth ;  even  in  him,  in  whom  we  have  ob- 
tained an  inheritance,  being  predestinated  according  to 
the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all  things  after  the  coun- 
sel of  his  own  will." 


LANCEFORD  BRAMBLET  WILKES. 


'nr^HE  subjeft  of  this  s-ketch  was  born  in  Maury  County,  Tennessee, 
on  the  24th  of  March,  1824.  His  paternal  ancestors  were  English- 
His  father  (Edmund),  grandfather  (John),  and  great-grandfather  (Minor 
Wilkes),  were  natives  of  Virginia.  His  grandfather  moved  to  Middle 
Tennessee  in  1810,  and  settled  in  Maury  County.  His  father  was  the 
youngest  son  of  a  large  family,  was  born  in  Franklin  County,  Virginia, 
in  1797,  and  was  married,  in  18 19,  to  C.  H.  Houston,  second  daughter 
of  James,  the  son  of  Christopher  C.  Houston.  The  maternal  grandfather 
was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  a  native  of  Iredel  County,  North  Carolina. 
The  maternal  grandmother  was  the  daughter  of  Daniel  Bills,  of  Surrey 
County,  North  Carolina,  and  was  of  Iris^  descent.  In  the  spring  of  1829, 
when  the  son  was  five  years  of  age,  the  father  left  the  State  of  Tennessee, 
and  located  in  what  is  now  Miller  County,  Missouri.  In  that  new  and 
growing  country,  L.  B.  Wilkes  spent  his  boyhood  years.  As  there  were 
few  schools,  and  still  fewer  churches,  within  his  reach  at  that  time,  his 
educational  and  church  privileges  were  quite  limited  till  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age.  From  1844  to  1848  he  spent  the  time  in  alternately  teaching 
and  attending  the  best  schools  accessible  to  him.  During  this  time  he  at- 
tended an  academy  at  Springfield,  Missouri,  and  made  considerable  progress 
in  the  rudiments  of  an  education. 

It  was  only  a  short  time  before  entering  this  academy  that  he  first  heard 
the  Disciples  preach.  Those  he  heard  were  illiterate,  and,  as  he  thought, 
heretical  in  their  religious  views ;  and,  to  use  his  own  language,  he  "  despised 
them."  But  while  attending  the  academy,  he  heard  the  Gospel  preached 
in  its  fullness,  simplicity,  and  beauty,  by  his  relative,  J.  M.  Wilkes,  and 
J.  H.  Haden.  Father  Haden,  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was  one  of  the 
best  and  wisest  of  the  preachers  of  that  country.  His  preaching  had  a 
great  influence  on  the  mind  of  the  subjcft  of  this  notice,  who,  having  heard 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  believed,and  was  immersed  in  James  River,  near 
Springfield,  Missouri,  on  the  second  Lord's  day  in  August,  1848,  by  J.  M, 

W\  LKE3. 

10  (140 


146 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


In  the  spring  of  1 849  he  entered  Bethany  College,  West  Virginia ;  but 
in  the  summer  of  the  following  year,  at  the  urgent  solicitation  of  Father 
Haden,  from  whom  he  received  temporary  aid,  he  returned  to  Missouri, 
and,  in  1852,  graduated  at  the  State  University,  then  under  the  presidency 
of  the  distinguished  James  Shannon. 

In  1853,  at  the  request  of  the  church  at  Hannibal,  Missouri,  he  became 
its  pastor;  and,  in  February  of  the  next  year,  he  was  married  to  Miss.  R.  K., 
youngest  daughter  of  Lewis  Bryan,  of  Palmyra,  Missouri. 

In  1854  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  W.  H.  Hopson,  in  the  man- 
agement of  "Palmyra  Female  Seminary;"  and,  in  1856,  he  was  eledled 
Preside_^nt  of  "  Christian  College,"  now  presided  over  by  J.  K.  Rogers. 

In  i860  he  was  again  called  to  the  church  at  Hannibal,  Missouri,  where 
he  remained  tor  five  years,  greatly  beloved  by  the  congregation  for  which 
he  labored,  and  respefted  by  all  who  knew  him.  In  November,  1865,  he 
located  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  which  is  his  present  field  of  labor. 

Both  as  a  preacher  and  teacher.  Brother  Wilkes  has  been  successful. 
True,  he  has  never  been  remarkable  for  holding  "big  meetings,"  and 
naving  great  success  in  the  evangelical  field,  though  his  successes  even  here 
have  been  by  no  means  small;  but  he  has  been  eminently  successful 
in  developing  a  permanent  growth  among  the  Disciples,  wherever  he  has 
labored.  He  succeeds  better  as  an  instruttor  of  the  head,  than  as  a  mover 
of  the  heart.  And  yet  he  is  capable  of  using  very  powerful  persuasive 
influence,  though  he  seldom  resorts  to  this  method,  preferring  rather  to 
present  his  subjeft  in  the  strongest  light  to  the  calm  judgment,  and  await 
the  desired  result,  which,  if  not  so  certain,  is  always  more  satisfaftory  when 
obtained. 

His  mind  is  rigidly  logical,  and  yields  only  to  legitimate  arguments.  He 
has  very  strong  and  decided  convifbons,  and  although  somewhat  reserved 
in  expressing  himself  on  any  mooted  question,  is,  nevertheless,  always  per- 
feftly  willing  to  share  the  full  responsibility  of  any  position  he  may  occupy, 
and,  if  necessary,  will  defend  it  in  the  face  of  all  opposition.  He  is  natu- 
rally, however,  unostentatious,  quiet  in  his  general  movements,  and  "seeks 
after  those  things  which  make  for  peace." 

He  is  about  six  feet  high,  has  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  a  sallow  complexion, 
and  weighs  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds.  He  is  a  close,  laborious 
student,  and  this  faft  is  clearly  marked  on  his  physical  organization. 


CHRIST'S   PRECIOUS  INVITATION. 


BY  L.  B.  WILKES. 


"Come  to  me,  all  you  that  are  weary  and  heavily  burdened,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me;  for  I  am  meek 
and  lowly  in  heart;  and  you  shall  find  rest  to  your  souls.  For  my  yoke 
is  easy  and  my  burden  is  light." — Matt,  xi  :  28-30. 

THIS  passage  does  not  say,  nor  does  any  one  in  the 
Scriptures,  that  Christ  is  to  come  to  the  sinner,  but 
the  sinner  is  to  come  to  him.  Religious  teachers  are,  cer- 
tainly, some  of  them,  not  a  little  in  error  on  this  point. 
The  appliances  used,  in  too  many  cases,  in  order  to  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  intimate  that  there  is  a  time  to 
which  the  sinner  is  to  look  and  for  which  he  is  taught  to 
pray,  when  God  will  incline  to  him,  when  he  will  be  gra- 
cious. The  sinner's  effort  is,  of  course,  influenced  by  such 
teaching,  to  induce  the  Lord  to  have  mercy,  instead  of  him- 
self htcomxng  willing  to  submit,  unreservedly  and  with  the 
whole  heart,  to  terms  already  plainly  propounded,  to  which 
he  is  invited. 

This  error  in  praftice  is  founded  upon  an  error  in 
theory,  i.  It  supposes  that  God  is  not,  at  all  times, 
willing  to  accept  the  sinner,  though  he  should  come  just 
as  he  ought.  1.  That  some  work  on  the  sinner's  part  is 
necessary  to  make  him  willing.    But,  in  truth,  God  is  at 

(H7) 


148 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


1 


all  times  willing.    His  nature  is  love,  and  Jesus's  nature  ; 

is  the  same,  fully  the  same.    Nor  can  we  conceive  what  i 

HE  would  be,  if,  at  any  time,  he  were  unwilling  to  be  mer-  ^ 

ciful  to  a  sinner.    One  thing  we  can  see  clearly — he  would  ■ 

not  be  the  God  of  the  Bible.    It  would  follow  hence  that  : 

we  could  have  no  premises  from  which  to  infer  that  any  , 

ad  on  the  sinner's  part  would  induce  willingness  on  his.  j 

All  such  works  are,  therefore,  works  of  supererogation,  ! 

based  upon  the  commandments  of  men,  and  not  upon  the  ' 

will  of  God.    Notice:  I  speak  of  the  sinner,  not  a  sinner,  ; 

and  of  God's  being  willing  to  pardon  the  sins  of  such  an  - 

one.    If  it  should  be  asked:  Why,  if  God  is  really  will-  ; 
ing  at  all  times  to  have  mercy  upon  the  sinner,  does  he 
not  adlually  and  at  once  have  mercy  upon  all.^    I  reply:  it 

is  because  he  can  not,  not  because  he  is  not  willing.  True,  3 
in  a  sense,  God  can  not  be  willing  to  do  what  he  can  not 

consistently  do.  While  the  sinner  is  impenitent  God  can  \ 
not  pardon  him ;  can  not  will  to  pardon  him.    It  would  be 

offering  a  premium  for  sin  to  do  so.  But  still  God  does  ■ 
will  the  salvation  of  every  sinner,  and  he  has  also  willed 

expressly  the  conditions  upon  which  he  saves.    Now  that  \ 

a  given  man  is  not  saved,  is  not  proof  that  God  is  unwill-  j 

ing  to  save  him,  while  as  yet  the  man  fails  of  the  condi-  \ 
tions  upon  which  the  salvation  is  contingent.     But  if  it 
could  be  established  that  no  conditions  are  imposed  upon 

man,  that  God's  will  to  that.effedt  is  alone  the  condition  of  i 

the  sinner's  forgiveness,  then  it  would  follow,  that,  if  a  j 
man  is  a  sinner,  it  is  because  God  is  not  willing  to  make 

him  a  saint.     But,  for  those  who  believe  that  the  Scrip-  i 

tures  express  the  will  of  God,  arguments  are  not  necessary.  ! 

The  plain  statements  and  necessary  implications  of  the  ^ 

sacred  volume  put  the  question  to  rest  at  once.    (See  Ezek.  ^ 

xviii:  23;  xxxiii:  11;  i  Tim.  ii:  4,  etc.)    The  passage  at  I 


1 


L.  B.  WILKES. 


149 


the  head — "Come  unto  me,"  etc.,  necessarily  implies  the 
willingness  of  Jesus  to  give  rest,  life,  and  salvation.  It 
also  informs  us  that  though  Jesus  is  willing,  anxious, 
pleading,  bleeding,  and  dying  that  the  sinner  might  be 
saved,  yet  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  find  rest,  to  come  and 
take  the  yoke  divine. 

When  the  faith  of  the  preacher  is  settled,  firmly  settled, 
that  God  can  not  be  made,  nor  wished,  more  ready  or  will- 
ing than  he  is  already,  to  be  merciful  to  the  sinner,  then 
his  energies  and  earnest  work  will  be  spent  in  impressing 
upon  the  heart  of  the  poor  lost  one  the  awful  and  calam- 
itous nature  of  sin.  Then  will  he  point  him  to  the  Cross 
of  Christ,  the  best  possible  expression  of  the  heinous  char- 
adter  of  that  which  brought  the  Savior  there.  This  he  will 
do  with  earnestness,  and  with  such  manifest  confidence 
that,  if  the  sinner  will  yield  in  child-like  faith  and  simplic- 
ity to  the  will  of  God,  he  shall  in  nowise  be  turned  away, 
that  he  will  have  good  reason  to  hope  the  best  possible 
results. 

It  is  implied  in  the  words  "  Come  to  me,"  that  Jesus 
and  the  sinner  are  apart.  This  separation  is  one  suggest- 
ing a  space,  not  that  may  be  measured  by  yards,  feet,  and 
inches,  but  that  must  be  reckoned  by  degrees  of  moral 
quality.  Even  the  parties  whom  Christ  addressed  were 
not  supposed  to  be  absent  from  him  by  a  literal  space,  but 
they  were  morally  apart.  Among  men,  we  frequently  find 
persons  mingling  together,  whose  hearts  are  not  at  all  in 
harmony;  who  are  morally  wide  apart.  The  mathemati- 
cal and  logical  condition  of  persons  and  parties  being  one, 
of  their  being  together  morally — that  they  love  the  same 
thing,  then  will  they  love  one  another — being  wanting, 
they  can  not  be  together.  So  it  was  of  the  parties  before 
us.    "The  righteous  Lord  loves  righteousness,  and-  hates 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


iniquity ;  whereas  the  sinner  loves  iniquity,  and  hates  right- 
eousness." Hence  were  they  apart.  Now,  before  they  can 
be  together,  they  must  be  alike;  and  ere  this  is  possible, 
they  must  change,  one  or  both.  But  Jesus  already  occu- 
pies, morally,  the  position  of  righteousness,  the  rallying 
point,  so  far  as  abstrad  principle  is  concerned,  for  all  ac- 
countable intelligences  in  the  universe.  It  follows  that 
there  is  no  change  to  take  place  in  him  of  the  kind  in 
question;  and  since  a  physical  change  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, therefore  no  change  at  all.  Hence  the  sinner  must 
change  if  he  would  be  saved. 

Sin  is  the  cause  of  the  separation.  Of  this  God  is  not 
the  author.  If  he  were,  I  can  not  see  the  reason  for  hold- 
ing man  responsible  for  it.  If  man  is  not  responsible 
for  sin,  then  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  salvation;  and 
therefore,  no  Savior,  and  Jesus  was  wrongly  named.  Nor 
shall  I  suppose  that  man  is  the  responsible  author,  while 
God  is  the  real  author  of  sin.  That  God  should  be  the 
real  author  of  sin,  but  should  so  shift  the  responsibility  of 
it  that  man — an  innocent  party — must  bear  it,  is  revolting 
to  my  common  sense;  is  little,  if  any,  short  of  the  veri- 
est blasphemy.  Besides  the  reason  of  the  case,  which  I 
think  I  have  with  me,  I  have  something  infinitely  better — 
the  Word  of  God.  Paul  says  (Rom.  v:  12) :  "Wherefore, 
as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,"  etc.  Here  it 
is  declared  that  sin  came  by  man.  To  say  that  God  is  the 
author  of  sin,  in  any  sense,  is,  I  think,  far  from  the  truth. 
Some  are  inclined  to  make  God  in  some  way,  or  to  some 
extent,  responsible  for  sin,  since,  say  they,  permitted  it. 
But  I  do  not  see  that  God  did,  in  any  proper  sense  of  the 
word,  permit  sin.  To  say  that  a  person  permits  any  given 
thing,  is  to  say  that  he  could  prevent  it.  Now,  before 
any  one  should  conclude  that  God  permitted  sin,  and  is  to 


L.  B.  WILKES. 


that  extent  responsible  for  it,  he  should  see  distindlv 
that  God  could,  in  harmony  with  his  nature,  with  the 
principles  of  his  government  and  the  nature  of  man,  have 
prevented  its  existence.  That  God's  physical  power  is 
adequate  to  the  accomplishing  of  any  purpose  compatible 
with  his  moral  nature,  I  grant,  is  true.  But  that  his 
omnipotence  would  or  could  be  exercised  to  accomplish 
that  which  would  be  inharmonious  with  the  principles  of 
his  moral  government,  is  not  true.  Before,  then,  we 
should  allow  that  God  could  have  prevented  sin,  and 
hence  that  he  may  have  permitted  it,  we  must  see  that  in 
so  doing  he  would  not  have  outraged  any  principles  of 
his  nature  or  of  his  dealings  with  man.  Such  knowledge 
would  include  a  full  view  of  all  the  principles  of  God's 
moral  government,  which  we  ought  not  to  presume  to 
have.  But  do  we  know  any  thing  of  God  from  which  we 
may  infer  certainly  that  he  could  not  consistently  have 
prevented  sin?  The  fact  that  sin  is,  to  my  mind,  proves 
that  God  could  not  have  prevented  it,  and  that,  therefore, 
he  did  not  permit  it.  Again,  if  man  was  so  made,  or 
circumstanced  by  the  Maker,  that  he  must  do  any  given 
act — must,  from  no  matter  what  cause — I  deny  that  it  was 
possible  in  such  case  that  he  sinned.  The  power  without 
him,  not  himself,  was  to  all  human  reason  really  and  re- 
sponsibly the  a(5tor,  while  man  should  be  regarded  as  only 
the  instrument,  the  machine.  The  man  did  not  ad ;  he 
was  aEled,  rather.  The  executioner  of  the  criminal  is  not 
held  to  be  guilty  of  murder,  only  because  he  is  not  sup- 
posed to  be  the  one  who  takes  the  life  of  his  fellow,  ex- 
cept in  the  sense  that  the  machine  thrashes  the  wheat. 
As  well  may  we  say  that  the  machine  is  the  responsible 
ador,  as  that  man  is,  where  he  is  absolutely  forced  to  a6t. 
I  believe  it  is  a  didate  of  conscience  in  every  case,  that. 


152 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


where  a  man  could  not  have  avoided  doing  an  aft,  he  did 
not  sin  when  he  did  it,  This  is  a  rule  of  law  in  the 
courts  of  everv  civilized  nation,  and  savage  too. 

Now,  if  MAN  sinned  in  the  Garden — and  the  Bible  says 
he  did — and  was  responsible  for  it— and  the  Bible  says  he 
was,  in  that  he  was  punished  for  it— it  follows  that  man 
was  the  real  doer  of  the  deed,  and  the  responsible  doer,  too, 
and  that  God,  therefore,^was  not.  It  follows,  also,  that 
it  was  not  impossible  for  man  to  have  avoided  the  sin. 
But  if  man  had  such  power  in  himself  that  he  controlled 
the  event — sin — it  follows  that  it  was  not  another's  power 
that  controlled  it ;  that  is,  it  follows  that  God  could  not 
have  prevented  sin  and  left  man  what  he  made  him,  and 
himself  the  God  that  he  is.  So  if  we  allow,  as  we  must, 
that  the  creation  of  man  and  the  manner  of  his  being  are 
but  the  outcroppings  of  the  Divine  nature,  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  principles  of  God's  government  are  such 
that  he  could  not  have  prevented,  and,  therefore,  did  not 
permit  man  to  sin.  This  same  conclusion  may  be  reached 
in  a  much  shorter  wav,  thus  :  God  commanded  man  to 
not  sin.  Now,  I  may  assume  that  God's  will,  which  is 
the  essential  feature  in  his  every  command,  has  his  entire 
omnipotence  to  execute  it,  so  far  as  his  moral  government 
will  allow.  But  his  power  did  not  prevent  sin  ;  therefore, 
it  could  not.  And  since  he  could  not  prevent  sin,  he  did 
not  permit  it.  Again,  remembering  that  sin  is  the  trans- 
gression of  Law,  it  follows  that  God  can  not  be  respon- 
sible for  it,  either  as  causing  it  or  permitting  it,  unless 
we  suppose  it  possible  for  HIM  to  violate  his  own  law. 

That  the  sinner  is  the  responsible  agent  for  his  sin,  is 
argued  from  the  fadl  that  he  is  recognized  as  being  able 
to  come  back,  the  way  being  opened,  the  reasons  and 
motives  being  furnished,  and  the  invitation  being  ex- 


L.  B.  WILKES. 


tended.  That  he  is  able,  under  these  circumstances,  to 
come,  is  proved  from  the  fadl  that  Jesus  calls  him,  coupled 
with  the  fad  that  the  Savior  is  too  good  to  be  so  unkind 
as  to  tantalize  the  suffering  one  with  a  pressing  invita- 
tion, to  which  he  knows  the  sinner  to  be  unable  to  re- 
spond. This  tender  language  from  the  eloquent  lips  of 
the  Crucified  One  is  proof  enough  for  me,  that  the  poor, 
lost  ones  can  come  back. 

May  all  persons  come  to  the  Savior  in  harmony  with 
this  call?  I  do  certainly  think  that  all  may  come,  can 
come,  and  ought  to  come,  provided  they  are  the  charac- 
ters, and  will  comply  with  the  conditions  precedent  to 
their  coming.  But  I  also  think  that  there  are  persons  or 
charadlers  who  are  not  included  in  this  call;  who,  in  their 
present  condition,  ought  not  or  can  not  come. 

I.  The  infant  is  not  included  for  the  reason:  i.  That 
it  is  not  capable  of  understanding  the  call ;  of  receiving 
and  afting  upon  it.  Now,  I  reason  that  Jesus  would  not 
invite  a  human  being  to  perform  an  ad,  for  the  doing  of 
which  he  is  wholly  incompetent.  That  an  infant,  but 
a  few  days  old,  is  entirely  incapable  of  rendering  the  obe- 
dience implied,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  prove.  It  needs 
no  proof.  Therefore,  the  infant  is  not  included.  2.  But 
this  conclusion  must  be  true  for  another  reason:  It  need 
not  to  come.  Sin  being  a  negled,  disregard,  or  violation 
of  law,  and  the  infant  being  entirely  incapable  of  any  one 
of  these  things,  it  has,  hence,  never  sinned,  and  therefore 
needs  no  salvation /row  sin.  Though  it  does  need  a  Sav- 
ior, it  is  not  from  sin.  Salvation  contemplates  more  than 
simply  the  remission  of  sins.  It  includes  the  redemption 
of  the  body,  its  resurredion,  and  preparation  for  the  final 
and  blessed  state  of  the  saved.  The  child,  though  not  a 
sinner,  needs  a  Savior  for  these  reasons.    Moreover,  the 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Lord  declares  that  unless  men  shall  "  turn  and  become 
as  little  children,  they  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaveii."  And  again  :  "  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  The  necessary  implication  from  these  sayings 
is,  that  the  infant  child  is  not  a  sinner,  and  needs  not  to 
come,  and  is  not,  therefore,  included  in  the  invitation. 

A  second  class  of  persons  not  invited  is  the  righteous. 
Jesus  says:  "  I  come  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners 
to  repentance."  The  "whole  need  not  a  physician,  but 
they  that  are  sick."  I  have  long  thought  that  the  poor- 
est excuse  of  the  many  offered  by  sinners  for  not  coming 
to  Christ  is,  "I  am  not  good  enough  yet;"  whereas  it 
is  precisely  because  they  are  sinners,  great  sinners,  that 
they  need  to  come.  Such  language,  too,  is  presumptuous 
on  their  part.  It  implies  that  they  feel  themselves  capa- 
ble of,  to  some  extent  at  least,  fitting  themselves  for  accept- 
ably appearing  before  God  for  his  favor.  The  more  or 
the  better  prepared  any  sinner  is  for  acceptable  approach 
to  the  blessed  Lord,  the  more  plainly  does  he  see  and 
keenly  feel  that  he  is  all  unworthy,  all  unclean.  I  would 
not  be  understood  as  intimating  that  he  has  no  prepara- 
tion to  make.  Far  from  it.  He  has  much  of  that  to  do, 
and  it  must  be  thoroughly  done,  else  every  attempt  must 
be  a  failure.  I  only  mean  that  he  can  not,  of  himself,  make 
himself  any  less  a  sinner  than  he  is;  that  he  can  not  de- 
du(5l  from  the  aggregate  amount  of  sins  standing  against 
him.  But  if,  by  the  phrase,  "good  enough,"  he  means 
only  preparedness  for  coming,  the  a£i  of  coming,  I  make  no 
objeftions.  Let  that  preparation  be  well  made.  What 
this  consists  in,  and  its  radical  nature,  shall  be  unfolded 
as  we  proceed. 

A  third  class  of  persons  not  included  in  this  invitation 
of  the  Savior  is  the  infidel.    "  He  that  comes  to  God" — 


L.  B.  WILKES. 


and  coming  to  Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  thing — "must  be- 
lieve that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  dili- 
gently seek  him."  (Heb.xi:6.)    *' Without  faith  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  God."    "What  is  not  of  faith  is  sin." 
(Rom.  xiv:  23.)     From  the  first  of  these  quotations  we 
see  that  one  essential  condition  of  acceptable  approach  to 
God  is  faith.    From  the  second,  we  see  that  faith  is  essen- 
tial in  every  case  in  order  to  please  God.    Now,  since  no 
one  would  be  invited  to  come  who  "must"  not;  and  since 
no  one  would  be  invited  to  come  who  would  not  please 
God  in  coming;  and  since  no  one  can  please  God  without 
faith,  it  follows  that  no  one  without  faith  is  included  in 
this  invitation  of  the  Lord.    In  the  last  of  these  quota- 
tions we  have  a  principle  of  broad  and  universal  applica- 
tion.   The  apostle,  having  shown  what  adls  would  be  sin- 
ful, and  what  would  not,  finally  draws  the  conclusion  that 
though  an  aft  should  be  of  such  a  nature  that  it  might  be 
done  or  be  left  undone  without  sin,  still,  in  either  case, 
faith  must  necessarily  accompany.    I  shall  not  try  to 
prove  that  the  stated  principle  is  applicable  in  cases  of 
purely  a  worldly  nature.    I  apply  it  only  to  afts  of  relig- 
ious worship.    To  all  these  it  does  certainly  apply,  if  not 
to  all  human  aftions.    Among  those  afts  which  the  text 
does  certainly  include,  is  that  one,  or  all  those,  by  which 
the  sinner  comes  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  takes  his  easy  yoke 
upon  him.    Now,  since  the  Lord  Jesus  could  not,  and 
therefore  has  not,  invited  any  one  to  take  a  step  or  per- 
form an  aft  that  would  be  sinful ;  and  since  it  is  shown  that 
any  aft  of  worship  or  obedience  to  God,  performed  with- 
out faith,  would  be  sinful,  it  follows  that  t\it  infidel  \s  not 
included  in  this  invitation.    The  reasoning  will  be  the 
same  if  we  should  suppose  the  words,  "  Come  to  me,"  etc., 
to  be  a  command  instead  of  an  invitation.   (Rom.  x:  14,) 


156 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Paul  says:  "How,  then,  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom 
they  have  not  believed?"  The  answer  evidently  is,  that 
it  shall  not,  as  it  certainly  can  not  in  sincerity  be  done. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  way  from  this  orthodox,  apostolic 
faith  is  not  long  nor  tortuous  to  the  conclusion  which  we 
would  establish.  Whether  this  text  speaks  of  the  'sim- 
ple vocal  ad  of  calling  upon  God,  or  whether  it  includes, 
as  it  most  likely  does,  all  that  must  be  done  in  order  to 
please  God  and  secure  his  favor,  there  is  one  indispen- 
sable condition  :  faith  must  first  be  had.  Now,  I  think 
it  easy,  leaving  the  intelligent  hearer  to  exercise  but  a  mo- 
ment's refleftion,  to  draw  the  conclusion  that  the  infidel 
shall  not,  can  not  come  to  Jesus  Christ.  And  what  he  shall 
not  do,  it  is  morally  certain  the  Savior  does  not  invite  or 
command  him  to  do.  I  leave  those  who  instrudl  the  sin- 
ner to  call  on  God,  in  whom  he  does  not  yet  believe,  for 
faith,  to  settle  the  conflidl  which  their  practice  involves, 
with  both  reason  and  the  express  word  of  God.  There  is 
one  mode  of  escape  from  this  awkward  dilemma,  to  which 
resort  is  sometimes  made.  It  is  said  that  there  are  sev- 
eral kinds  of  faith;  that  while  it  is  true  that  one  kind,  mere 
historic  faith,  is  necessary  to  calling  on  God,  still  the  faith 
which  is  unto  salvation  may  be  called  for;  that  the  calling 
may  be,  nay,  must  be,  before  this  saving  faith,  and  in 
order  to  it.  The  first  objedlion  that  I  make  to  this  reply 
is,  that  it  is  not  known  to  be  true.  The  Bible  says  not 
one  word  about  kinds  of  faith.  It  distinguishes  between 
a  dead  and  a  living  faith;  but  this  is  a  distindion  not 
of  kinds  of  faith.  It  refers  only  to  the  fad  that  a  faith 
that  does  not  work  is  dead,  but  makes  not  even  an 
intimation  that  there  are  kinds  of  faith.  Secondly:  But 
suppose  that  there  are  kinds  of  faith,  is  it  known  that  the 
Apostle  Paul  had  his  eye  upon  a  mere  historic  faith,  a  kind 


L.  B.  WILKES. 


of  minor  importance,  which,  though  needed  for  calling  on 
God,  is,  nevertheless,  not  the  faith  which  is  essential  to 
salvation?    This  is  not  known  to  be  true,  nor  is  it  true. 
The  faith  of  which  Paul  speaks,  is  that  without  which  we 
can  not  please  God,  that  is  unto  salvation.    This  con- 
clusion will  become  apparent  by  a  brief  reference  to  the 
context:  "The  word  is  nigh  thee,  in  thy  mouth,  and  in 
thy  heart;  that  is,  the  word  of  faith  which  we  preach;  that, 
if  thou  shalt  profess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
believe  in  thy  heart  that  God  raised  him  from  the  dead, 
thou  shalt  be  saved.    For  with  the  heart  man  believes 
unto  righteousness;  and  with  the  mouth  profession  is 
made  unto  salvation."    (Rom.  x:  8-1 1.)    Thus  we  see 
(even  if  we  must  allow  that  there  are  kinds  of  that  which 
is  philosophically  and  Scripturally  a  unit),  that  the  faith 
of  which  Paul  speaks,  is  that  by  which  we  are  justified; 
that  it  is  a  faith  of  the  heart;  that  it  is  the  faith  in  order 
to  salvation.    It  is  of  this  faith  that  the  apostle  speaks, 
when,  at  the  fourteenth  verse,  he  says  that  a  man  can  not 
call  on  God  without  it.    We  therefore  press  the  question 
again:  How  can  a  man  call  on  God /or  it? 

A  fourth  class,  not  included  in  this  invitation,  is  the 
impenitent  sinner.  Though  a  man  should  have  taith,  if  it 
should  not  work  to  the  breaking  of  his  stony  heart ;  if 
it  should  not  bring  him  in  deep  poverty  of  spirit  and  con- 
trition of  soul  to  Jesus,  his  faith  is  not  of  t\i^t  degree  nec- 
essary to  his  coming  acceptably.  This  state  of  things  is 
not  only  possible,  but  it  has  adually  existed.  John  xii: 
42  says:  "  But  yet  many  even  of  the  rulers  believed  on 
him ;  but,  on  account  of  the  Pharisees,  they  would  not 
confess  him,  lest  they  should  be  put  out  of  the  Syna- 
gogue ;  for  they  loved  the  glory  of  men  more  than  the 
glory  of  God."    Here  we  have  persons  who  did  aftually 


.58 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


believe  on  HIM,  but  they  lacked  that  degree  of  faith 
that  takes  hold  of  the  heart ;  hence,  they  would  not  con- 
fess him,  as,  in  that  condition,  they  ought  not.  In  such 
a  state  they  could  not  draw  near  to  the  Christ.  He  would 
spurn  them  from  his  presence.  Such  men  will  appear  to 
come  when  they  may  obtain  the  thing  they  want — the 
glory  of  men.  I  fear  that  there  are  many  such  half-con- 
verted souls  in  the  Church.  You  will  know  them  by 
their  fruits.  They  are  hard  to  please.  Having  itching 
ears,  they  are  forever  clamoring  for  teachers  who  will  pan- 
der to,  and  pamper  their  carnal  appetites.  Thev  have  no 
gift  for  doing  any  earnest  heart-work  for  God.  They  are 
generally  absent  from  prayer-meeting,  and  when  there,  they 
have  no  heart  to  work.  Thev  are  nearly  alwavs  late  at 
church ;  and  when  there  they  occupy  a  seat  as  far  from  the 
speaker  as  possible,  lest  his  words  of  burning  force  should 
set  fire  to  their  stubbly  hearts,  or  unmask  their  worthless 
and  deformed  souls.  Let  the  glorious  light  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  blessed  God  flash  around  them,  and  beam 
upon  them,  that  they  may  be  driven  from  the  Church,  or 
to  a  speedy  and  deep  repentance.  Of  all  the  classes  men- 
tioned, this  one  is  most  unprepared  to  come  acceptably  to 
Jesus  Christ.  Like  the  Pharisees,  which  they  are,  they 
are  whited  sepulchers,  fair  as  to  the  exterior,  but  within 
are  full  of  rottenness  and  corruption. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  answer  the  question — Who  may 
come  to  Jesus  Christ?  This  we  do  in  the  gracious  terms 
of  the  great  Teacher:  "Come  unto  me  all  you  that  are 
wearv  and  are  heavily  burdened."  This  language  is  not 
ambiguous.  No  soul  need  be  at  a  loss  for  one  moment 
in  gathering  its  meaning.  It  means  what  it  says,  and 
says  plainlv  what  it  means.  The  sinner  must  see  and  feel 
himself  a  sinner.    This  implies  faith  in  Christ.  For, 


L.  B.  WILKES. 


where  no  law  is,  there  can  be  no  sin  ;  and  where  the  law 
is  not  perceived,  sin  can  not  be  discovered.  But  the  law 
is  seen  to  be  law  only  when  it  is  seen  to  emanate  from 
some  rightful  source,  otherwise  it  is  no  more  than  idle 
talk.  Hence,  if  the  sinner  sees  and  feels  himself  to  be  a 
dinner,  it  is  because  he  has  seen  not  only  the  law  as  law, 
Lut  that  he  sees  the  law-giver  as  law-giver;  that  he  does 
exercise /ij/M  in  the  law-giver.  But,  as  already  said,  this 
faith  must  work,  must  deepen,until  the  Gospel's  light  and 
love  shine  upon  the  soul,  revealing  to  the  sinner's  eye  all 
its  enormous  pollutions.  His  mind  rests  for  a  moment 
upon  the  revealed  beauty,  purity,  and  deep  loveliness  of 
Jesus's  chara6ter  andiife,  and  especially  of  his  sufferings 
and  "death  for  our  sins,  according  to  the  Scriptures;" 
and  he  feels  to  exclaim,  "O  wretched  man  that  I  am!" 
Then  he  looks  into  his  own  sinful  heart,  and  it  is  as 
though  he  looked  into  the  bosom  of  night  itself.  Every 
pain  that  Jesus  felt,  which  he  now  sees  was  for  him,  he 
feels.  Every  groan  of  Gethsemane  and  of  Calvary  wrings 
from  his  penitent  and  burdened  heart  an  echo  of  grief — 
deep  heart-grief.  Like  the  porter  who  has  carried  long 
his  burden,  and  is  almost  sinking  under  its  weight,  so  is 
he  burdened  by  his  sins.  He  is  weary  and  heavily  bur- 
dened. Now  he  may  come,  because  he  is  invited  to  come. 
Now,  like  the  prodigal,  he  has  come  to  himself,  and  may 
arise  and  go  to  God,  assured  that  he  will  in  nowise  turn 
him  away.  O  that  ministers,  "that  all  Christians,  indeed, 
may  more  faithfully  and  effedtually  point  sinners  to  the 
Lamb  of  God  who  takes  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  Let 
them  be  earnest  as  those  who  plead  for  life;  nay,  for  some- 
thing that  is  better  than  life.  But  it  may  be  said :  The 
sinner  should  not  "come"  till  he  is  drawn,  divinely  im- 
pelled, to  "come."    But  find  a  sinner  burdened  and  grief- 


i6o 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


stricken,  such  as  I  have  described,  and  you  find  one  already 
drawn,  divinely  drawn,  to  God.  No  matter  how  it  was 
done,  the  work  is  certainly  and  rightly  done.  But  the 
Savior  has  told  us  how  it  is  done.  John  vi :  44,  45, 
Jesus  says :  "  No  man  can  come  to  me,  unless  the  Father, 
who  sent  me,  should  draw  him  :  and  I  will  raise  him  up 
at  the  last  day.  It  is  written  in  the  prophets.  And  they 
shall  all  be  taught  of  God.  Every  one  that  hears  from 
the  Father,  and  learns,  comes  to  me."  The  lesson  in  this 
extraft  is  simple  and  natural,  i.  No  one  can  come  to 
Jesus  whom  the  Father  does  not  draw  to  him.  2.  The 
sinner  first  hears,  then  learns — is  thus  drawn,  and  then 
comes  to  the  Savior,  with  the  assurance  that  he  will  be 
raised  up  at  the  last  day.  With  this  agrees  Paul,  when 
he  says:  "So,  then,  faith  comes  by  hearing,  and  hearing 
by  the  Word  of  God."  The  sublime  story  of  the  Cross 
is  issued  by  Jehovah  in  a  proclamation  to  sinful  man. 
He  hears  and  learns  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Father.  He 
learns  them,  as  near  as  may  be,  in  all  their  unsearchable 
depths  of  meaning ;  in  their  bearings  upon  the  questions 
of  sin  and  holiness,  of  life  and  godliness.  He  learns  that 
this  Magna  Charta  of  life  and  endless  joy  is  so  well  at- 
tested by  evidence  homogeneous  that  there  is  simply  no 
room  for  doubt.  He  believes,  he  feels,  he  trembles,  at 
God's  Word — he  comes. 

While  Jesus  was  on  earth,  men  might  literally  come  to 
him,  though  this  kind  of  coming  is  certainly  not  the  one 
meant  in  our  subjedl.  But,  now  that  Jesus  is  not  here, 
where  is  the  sinner  to  go  ?  for  I  doubt  not  but  that  the 
lesson  is  in  as  full  force  to-day  as  when  first  pronounced. 
Where  shall  the  sinner  go  ?  To  Jesus,  is  the  answer.  With 
Simon  Peter  I  would  say:  "Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go? 
Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life."    Anciently  God 


L.  B.  WILKES. 


i6i 


dwelt  in  the  Temple.  It  was  his  house.  There,  and 
not  just  anywhere,  the  true  worshiper  always  found  him. 
HE  has  a  house  now,  also.  i  Cor.  vi :  i6  says:  "For  ye 
are  the  temple  of  the  living  God;  as  God  said:  I  will 
dwell  in  them,  and  walk  among  them."  This  is  spoken 
of  the  Church.  Again,  Paul  says  that  the  house  of  God 
"  is. the  Church  of  the  living  God."  (iTim.iii:  15.)  In 
Eph.  ii:  22  it  is  said  of  the  Church  that  it  is  the  "dwell- 
ing-place of  God  by  the  Spirit."  In  these  Scriptures  we 
are  taught  that  the  Church  is  the  temple  in  which  God 
lives. 

So  far  as  place  on  earth,  for  receiving  and  blessing  the 
sinner,  is  concerned,  I  doubt  not  but  that  the  Church  is 
that  place.  The  O.  S.  P.  Confession  of  Faith  says  of 
the  Church :  "  Out  of  which  there  is  no  ordinary  possibility 
of  salvation."  So  I  believe.  This  Church  in  which  God 
dwells  by  his  Spirit,  is  the  body  of  Christ.  So  teaches 
Paul  (Eph.  i:  11,), et  al.  It  is  from  this  stand-point — 
Jesus's  capitol  for  Divine  government  on  earth — that  all 
his  precepts  and  commandments,  threatenings  and  prom- 
ises, are  issued.  It  is  to  the  Church — Christ's  body,  the 
temple  of  God,  the  resident  capitol  of  the  Godhood,  on 
earth — that  the  sinner  must  come,  in  order  that  he  may 
come  to  Jesus  Christ.  All  the  spiritual  blessings  of 
Heaven  are  yea  and  amen  to  that  man  who  is  in  Christ 
Jesus.  This  conclusion  receives  further,  and,  I  think, 
final  confirmation  from  Hebrews  xii:  22,  to  close  of  the 
chapter: 

"But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the  city 
of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  in- 
numerable company  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
Church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to 
God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
11 


l62 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


perfedl,  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and 
to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things 
than  that  of  Abel.  See  that  ye  refuse  him  not  that  speak- 
eth, for  if  they  escaped  not  who  refused  him  that  spake 
on  earth,  much  more  shall  not  we  escape,  if  we  turn  away 
from  him  that  speaketh  from  heaven:  whose  voice  then 
shook  the  earth :  but  now  he  hath  promised,  saying.  Yet 
once  more  I  shake  not  the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven. 
And  this  word,  yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of 
those  things  that  are  shaken,  as  of  things  that  are  made, 
that  those  things  that  can  not  be  shaken  may  remain. 
Wherefore  we  receiving  a  kingdom  which  can  not  be 
moved,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we  may  serve  God  ac- 
ceptably, with  reverence  and  godly  fear.  For  our  God 
is  a  consuming  fire." 

From  this  passage,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Christians  in 
Paul's  day  were  taught  to  believe  that  in  being  saved  they 
had  '^come"  to  Mount  Zion,  which,  I  believe,  is  literally 
the  Church.  The  term  Church,  on  earth,  may  not  exhaust 
the  idea  in  the  expression  Mount  Zion;  but  I  confidently 
believe  that  it  is  included  therein^  else  it  is  not  true,  as  as- 
serted, that  the  Hebrew  Christians  "have  come  to  Mount 
Zion."  They  had  then  come  to  the  Church.  Here  they 
met  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  the  Mediator,  the  Savior, 
the  Spirit  of  adoption,  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  per- 
fe6t,  and,  finally,  God,  the  judge  of  all.  This  coming  and 
meeting  was,  of  course,  not  the  literal  or  physical  coming 
and  meeting  of  persons  and  parties,  as  when  one  man  me^ts 
another  on  a  journey;  but  the  Christians  then  and  now, 
in  coming  to  the  Church,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  enter 
into  spiritual  and  joyous  union  and  communion  with  ah 
the  transcendently  glorious  persons  and  privileges  cata- 


L.  B.  WILKES. 


163 


logued  in  all  the  holy  oracles  of  God,  so  far  as  they  accrue 
to  man  in  the  flesh.  Of  course,  when  I  speak  of  coming 
to  the  Church,  I  mean  "  the  Church  of  the  living  God." 
Tnere  is,  or  seems  to  be,  as  great  a  mania  for  inventing 
new  churches  as  new  machinery,  and  for  about  the  same 
reason — to  please  the  dear  people.  The  fashion-mongers 
of  infidel  Paris  are  not  more  intent  upon  pleasing  the  car- 
nal longings  of  their  mammon-worshipers,  than  are  creed- 
mongers  and  sedl-makers  to  adjust  the  Church  to  suit  the 
tastes  of  the  world. 

The  time  for  the  sinner  to  come  is  now.  When  this 
life  is  in  danger,  man  never  fails  to  at  once  avail  himself, 
if  possible,  of  every  means  of  escape  or  recovery.  How 
strange  that  any  one  should  be  less  careful  of  the  true 
life — of  the  life  to  come. 

But  I  must  state  the  result — rest.  Freed  from  every 
galling  yoke  of  bondage  imposed  by  the  tyrant  sin,  the 
soul  lifts  up  its  head  toward  the  hills  whence  its  help 
comes.  Now  it  spreads  its  wings  for  an  upward  flight, 
and  ever  and  anon  it  rises.  The  sense  of  rest,  of  the  love 
of  God  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
is  given  to  us,  is  the  pearl  of  great  price,  the  very  climax 
of  blessing  here  below.  With  but  little  change,  the  fol- 
lowing lines  are  in  point: 

"One  hour  of  passion,  so  sacred,  is  worth 

Whole  ages  of  heartless  and  wandering  bliss; 
And,  O,  if  there  be  an  Elysium  on  earth. 
It  is  this,  it  is  this." 

And  when  life  has  gone  on  apace,  and  death's  dark,  cold 
shadows  are  settling  around,  then  the  soul  needs  rest,  and 
feels  most  blissfully  the  value  of  this  gift  Divine. 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


It  is  when  the  world  recedes  and  disappears,  that  the 
soul  whispers  to  itself:  "Tell  me,  my  soul,  can  this  be 
death?"    If  so,  "O  the  pain,  the  bliss  of  dying." 

"There  remains  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God."  "Let 
us  strive  to  enter  into  that  rest." 


I 

I 


I 


I 


OTIS  ASA  BURGESS. 


/^TIS  ASA  BURGESS  was  born  August  26,  1829,  in  the  town  of 
Thompson,  Windham  County,  Conneflicut.  Thomas  Burgess,  one 
of  his  paternal  ancestors,  joined  the  Pilgrim  Colony  in  1637.  His  mater- 
nal ancestors  were  of  the  same  stock. 

He  remained  in  Connefticut  till  eight  years  of  age,  when  he  removed 
to  Norwich,  Chenango  County,  New  York.  The  next  nine  years  of  his 
life  were  spent  in  attending  school  four  months  in  the  year,  and  working 
the  remaining  eight  months  "  amid  the  rocks  and  stumps  of  a  sterile  farm." 
During  this  time,  and  when  about  fourteen,  his  mother  died.  This  event 
made  a  strong  impression  on  his  mind.  His  religious  training  had  been 
after  the  straightest  seft  of  Calvinism,  but  his  mother's  death  melted  him 
down  so  that  he  laid  aside  the  "doftrine  of  the  decrees,"  and  began  to 
earnestly  "seek  after  God."  Accordingly  he  went  through  the  entire 
programme  of  the  popular  method  of  "getting  religion"  at  the  "mourners* 
bench,"  but  did  not  succeed.  Others  professed  to  have  "got"  it  at  the 
same  meeting,  but  all  his  prayers  and  tears  were  unavailing.  He  finally 
concluded  that  he  was  either  predestined  to  be  damned,  or  given  over  to  a 
hardness  of  heart.  In  this  terrible  state  of  mind,  he  was  led  to  almost  hate 
God,  and  utterly  rejeft  all  revealed  religion. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  "Norwich  Academy,"  a  flourishing 
institution  of  its  kind,  about  six  miles  from  home.  He  remained  here  only 
a  few  weeks,  but  made  sufficient  progress  during  his  stay  to  teach  si'ccess- 
.^ully  a  common-school  during  the  remaining  portion  of  the  year.  In  the 
spring  of  1847  he  re-entered  "  Norwich  Academy,"  and  in  fourteen  weeks 
finished  the  entire  course,  except  the  classics.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  removed  to  Metamora,  Woodford  County,  Illinois,  and  taught  school 
till  the  summer  of  1851.  At  this  point  he  first  heard  of  the  Disciples. 
They  were  vulgarly  called  "  Campbellites,"  and  spoken  of  in  the  most 
disrespeftful  terms  by  all  the  religious  parties  in  the  place.  Being  already 
a  scoffer  at  religion,  it  did  not  require  much  effort  for  him  to  join  in  the 
general  outcry  against  the  Disciples.    He  formed  the  most  unfavorable 

(i6s) 


i66 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


opinion  of  them,  and  was  more  than  willing  to  believe  that  they  were 
false  teachers  and  mere  pretenders.  Of  course,  he  did  not  go  to  hear 
their  preachers,  and,  consequently,  was  under  this  misconception  for  some 
time.  Finally,  in  the  good  providence  of  God,  he  was  permitted  to  hear 
"  Old  Father  Palmer,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  preach  the  Primitive 
Gospel.  The  discourse  was  founded  on  Afts  ii:  38,  and  was  a  clear  and 
forcible  presentation  of  the  Gospel  and  its  conditions.  Concerning  tl  e 
effeO.  of  this  discourse.  Brother  Burgess  says:  "It  was  new,  wonderful.  It 
opened  a  new  world.  I  could  scarcely  refrain  from  joining  that  day,  but 
did  not  fully  believe  what  he  said.  I  had  heard  that  the  Disciples  had  a 
Bible  of  their  own,  and,  believing  this,  thought  Palmer  quoted  Afts  ii :  38, 
from  his  own  Bible.  I  was  at  least  positive  the  text  was  not  in  mine." 
But  it  was  there  just  as  he  had  heard  it;  and  when  he  went  home,  and 
saw  it  in  his  own  Bible,  with  his  own  eyes,  he  could  not  get  away  from 
the  truth,  but  confessed,  and  was  immersed  on  the  21st  of  July,  1850.  He 
soon  formed  a  resolution  to  go  to  Bethany  College,  where  he  could  hear, 
from  Mr.  Campbell's  own  lips,  the  great  truths  with  which  he  was  now 
partially  acquainted.  This  resolution  was  carried  into  efFeft  in  the  fall 
of  1 85 1.  Arriving  at  the  college  with  only  $4  50,  his  prospects  for  long 
remaining  there  were  indeed  gloomy,-and  would  have  discouraged  any  one 
with  a  less  determined  spirit.  He  secured  boarding  on  trust,  and,  by  con- 
stant perseverance  and  industry,  was  able  to  work  his  way  through  college — 
at  one  time  teaching  in  the  "  Primary,"  at  another  laboring  with  his  own 
hands  at  whatever  work  would  best  yield  a  support. 

In  1854  he  graduated,  and  returned  to  Illinois,  and  took  charge  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  Washington,  where  he  remained  one  year.  He  was 
next  Professor  in  Eureka  College  a  year,  after  which  he  divided  his  time 
between  the  churches  in  Metamora  and  Washington.  In  1862  he  took 
charge  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  he  has 
remained  ever  since.  At  this  point  his  labors  have  been  greatly  blessed, 
the  membership  of  the  Church  having  more  than  doubled  since  his  con- 
neftion  with  it  as  pastor.  He  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  missionary 
work,  and  was  at  one  time  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  A.  C.  M.  S. 

His  chief  charafteristics  are  energy,  persistence,  and  force.  He  is  never 
idle,  knows  no  such  word  as  fail,  and,  in  whatever  department  he  may  choose 
to  labor,  wields  a  decided  and  powerful  influence.  As  a  speaker,  he  is  log- 
ical, pointed,  and  forcible,  but  gives  little  attention  to  the  graces  of  rhetoric 
or  the  charms  of  elocution.  And  yet,  if  the  true  orator  is  the  man  who 
carries  his  point.  Brother  Burgess  need  not  be  concerned  about  the  tinseled 
drapery  which  is  too  often  the  principal  staple  of  modern  oratory. 


WHAT  MUST  I  DO  TO  BE  SAVED? 


BY  O.  A.  BURGESS. 


"Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" — Acts  xvi:  30. 

IT  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  discourse  to  answer,  in 
the  light  of  the  New  Testament,  the  above  question. 
To  exaggerate  its  importance  would  be  impossible ;  to 
give  it  a  wrong  answer  would  be  fatal  to  the  best  interests 
of  humanity,  and  bring  eternal  ruin  upon  the  individual 
soul.  The  question  alike  affeds  personal  interests  and 
human  destiny,  because  the  race  must  be  lost  unless  the 
individual  can  be  saved.  The  Scriptures  are  vast  as  eter- 
nity in  their  generalizations,  yet  so  special  that  not  one 
infant  can  draw  the  breath  of  life,  not  one  sparrow  fall  to 
the  ground,  but  they  assure  us  of  the  Father's  notice.  By 
a  simple  analysis  of  the  question  now  before  us,  it  will  be 
found  to  contain  two  distindl  clauses;  one  looking  to  per- 
sonal adlivity,  expressed  by  the  words  "What  shall  I  do;" 
the  other  looking  to  entire  passivity,  expressed  by  the 
words  "that  I  may  be  saved."  These  two  will  be  found 
to  contain  not  simply  the  principles  involved  in  the  salva- 
tion of  a  certain  Philippian  jailer,  but  those  involved  in  the 
salvation  of  every  man  from  that  day  to  this.  If  a  further 
analysis  of  the  question  be  made,  it  would  be  eminently 
proper  to  emphasize  the  word  do:  "What  must  I  do?" 

(167) 


t68 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


This  becomes  the  more  obviously  just  and  necessary,  be- 
cause, amid  the  Babel  ideas  of  salvation,  the  words  "  think," 
"believe,"  "feel,"  "enjoy,"  et  al.,  are  almost  universally 
substituted  for  the  word  do,  whereby  many  are  led  astray, 
and  very  few  trembling  sinners  are  ever  truly  answered  the 
momentous  question  involving  their  salvation;  whereby 
also  many  of  the  so-called  saints  are  in  great  doubt  and 
perplexity  a  large  part  of  their  lives,  because  the  road  they 
travel  being  life-long,  they  are  tremblingly  awaiting  the 
end,  to  know  if  they  are  in  the  right  way;  whereas,  it  was 
their  most  gracious  privilege  to  have  certainly  known  at 
the  beginning;  and  this  they  would  have  done,  had  they 
been  answered  the  question  according  to  Christ,  and  not 
according  to  men.  •  But  before  the  question  as  to  what  the 
sinner  must  do  can  be  truly  answered,  the  word  "saved," 
in  the  second  clause,  must  be  well  understood.  What, 
then,  is  salvation,  and  in  what  respeft,  or  from  what,  is  any 
human  being  to  be  saved? 

Of  course,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  pause  here,  to  note 
any  cavils  that  may  arise  with  reference  to  the  special  case 
in  hand;  for,  if  any  one  should  so  far  forget  the  candor  and 
fairness  necessary  in  the  discussion  of  any  question,  and 
particularly  one  of  such  grave  import,  as  to  affirm  that  the 
jailer  desired  simply  to  be  saved  from  punishment,  because 
the  prison-doors  were  open,  or  from  danger,  because  there 
was  an  earthquake,  such  an  one  need  only  be  reminded 
that  the  sequel  shows  entirely  another  state  of  fadts ;  shows, 
indeed,  that  the  jailer  had  only  been  aroused  by  these 
things  to  comprehend  his  own  situation,  and,  to  some  good 
extent,  the  charafter  of  the  men  whom  he  had  imprisoned; 
and  that,  therefore,  he  appealed  to  them  in  their  charafter 
as  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ;  and  his  willing  and  imme- 
diate compliance  with  the  terms  of  their  answer  to  his 


O.  A.  BURGESS. 


169 


question  shows,  beyond  honorable  dispute,  how  easy  of 
understajiding,  and  how  easy  of  application,  was  the  Gos- 
pel for  the  salvation  of  that  sinner,  and,  therefore,  for  any 
other  sinner. 

But  from  what  is  man  to  be  saved?  If  this  were  to  be 
answered  in  the  light  of  the  religion  of  the  present  day, 
wherein  the  uprising  and  outflowing  of  joyful  emotions  is 
to  be  taken  as  both  the  condition  and  proof  of  religious 
life,  then  it  could  be  supposed  that  to  become  a  Christian, 
or  "get  religion,"  is  to  be  saved  from  all  "the  ills  that 
flesh  is  heir  to."  It  may  be  well  to  answer  the  question 
first  negatively,  and  ascertain  from  what  man  is  not  to  be 
saved.  The  following  may  be  safely  affirmed :  Christ  does 
not  propose  to  save  man  from  the  sorrows  of  this  life,  for 
the  righteous  are  often  most  cast  down  and  afflifted;  nor 
from  the  poverty  of  this  life,  for  the  wicked  wax  rich, 
while  the  righteous  beg  bread;  nor  from  temptations,  for 
himself  was  tempted  of  the  devil;  nor  from  death,  for 
Paul  and  Nero  alike  go  back  to  dust;  nor  from  eternal 
judgment,  for  every  one  must  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment-seat of  Christ,  to  give  an  account  of  the  deeds  done 
in  the  body.  From  these  specifications,  showing  what 
men  are  not  saved  from,  it  might,  almost  in  great  alarm, 
be  asked:  Pray,  then,  from  what  are  they  saved?  The 
first  direft  and  unmistakable  declaration  on  this  subjeft 
may  be  found  in  the  words  of  the  angel  to  Mary:  "Thou 
shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from 
their  sins."  This  declaration  was  never  change'd  or  modi- 
fied. If  Christ  made  special  cases  of  salvation  while  he 
was  on  earth,  it  was  only  to  demonstrate  his  ability  and 
willingness  to  perform  the  great  salvation.  The  great 
objeft  before  him  was  salvation  from  sin.  Of  this  the 
prophets  spoke;  for  this  John  the  Baptist  prepared  the 


170 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


way,  saying,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world."  Toward  this  the  whole  life  of  Christ 
tended,  and  for  the  consummation  of  this  even  his  life  was 
offered  up.  Not  an  offering  burnt  upon  Jewish  altar,  not 
a  lamb  bled  by  the  hand  of  Jewish  priest,  that  did  not 
look  toward  the  offering  of  an  acceptable  sacrifice  for  the 
forgiveness  of  sin.  Whatever  details  of  dodlrine  may  here- 
after appear,  here,  at  the  very  threshold  of  every  religious 
inquiry,  stands  the  unalterable  truth,  that  without  the 
shedding  of  blood,  there  is  no  remission  of  sin.  If,  there- 
fore, the  central  idea  in  the  offering  of  Christ  was  the 
shedding  of  his  blood  for  the  remission  of  sin,  it  follows 
that  the  central  idea  in  the  salvation  of  man  is  salvation 
from  sin. 

There  are  now  two  features  in  the  question  of  salvation 
from  sin,  which  deserve  particular  attention:  these  are 
salvation  from  the  effeils  of  sin  already  committed,  and 
salvation  from  the  overt  adt  of  committing  sin.  It  must 
be  apparent  to  the  careful  observer  that  the  blood  of 
Christ  applies  primarily  and  principally  only  to  the  for- 
mer, and  only  incidentally  to  the  latter.  Incidentally, 
because  to  one  already  washed  from  the  stain  of  sins  past, 
there  is  supposed  to  be  given  a  strength  to  resist  sin;  a 
strength  which  comes  through  a  knowledge  of  Christ,  and 
a  trust  in  his  name.  And  it  can  only  be  when  this  strength 
is  lost  through  lusts  of  the  flesh,  weakness  of  faith,  or 
general  inattention  to  the  means  of  grace,  that  such  an 
one  washed  becomes,  in  the  ordinary  sense,  a  sinner,  and 
has  need  again  of  the  cleansing  power  of  the  blood  of 
Christ.  This  brings  the  question,  beyond  dispute,  to  ap- 
ply to  the  sins  of  the  past;  and  to  this  Paul  bears  testi- 
mony, saying:  "God  hath  set  forth  Christ  to  be  a  propi- 
tiation through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteous- 


O.  A.  BURGESS. 


iiess  for  the  remission  of  the  sins  that  are  past,  through 
the  forbearance  of  God."  This  gives  the  true  initial  point 
from  whence  all  observations  are  to  be  made  touching  the 
salvation  of  a  sinner,  and  shows  in  clear  light,  and  unmis- 
takable terms,  that  when  the  solemn  question  comes — 
"Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  it  is  equivalent  to 
the  inquiry:  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  from,  or  receive 
forgiveness  of,  my  past  sins.  This  may  seem  reducing 
the  question  to  even  too  narrow  limits.  If  such  a  thought 
arise,  it  will  be  very  readily  removed  by  a  few  simple  ques- 
tions, such  as.  Why  do  men  need  salvation  at  all?  The 
answer:  Because  of  sin.  Why  is  man  alienated  from  the 
life  of  God?  The  answer:  On  account  of  sin.  Why  do 
you  fear  the  judgment  of  God?  Invariably  and  always 
the  same  answer:  Because  of  sin.  If,  then,  man  be  freed 
from  sin,  what  need  he  fear?  Not  the  ills  of  this  life,  for, 
though  he  must  bear  them,  Christ  will  give  him  strength; 
not  the  power  of  the  devil,  for,  though  tempted  by  him, 
Christ  is  miglitier  than  the  devil ;  not  the  grave,  for, 
though  he  must  slumber  in  it,  Christ  has  lighted  its  dark- 
ness, and  broken  its  bonds;  and  surely  not  the  future 
judgment,  for,  though  he  must  stand  there,  Christ  is  his 
shield  and  his  eternal  defense.  In  a  word,  if  man  be  freed 
from  sin,  life  and  death,  time  and  eternity  are  all  his,  for 
he  is  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's.  "  Sirs,  what  must  I 
do  to  be  saved" — from  my  past  sins? — is  a  question, 
therefore,  of  such  vast  proportions  and  infinite  import, 
that  in  it  is  more  of  human  weal  or  woe  than  by  the  same 
number  of  words  can  otherwise  be  uttered  by  human  lips. 

With  the  true  scope  and  intent  of  the  word  "saved," 
as  used  in  the  text,  now  clearly  marked  out,  the  real  ques- 
tion, "What  must  I  do?"  may  be  considered.  It  has 
already  been  intimated  that  the  force  of  this  question  is 


172 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


often  lost,  just  at  the  time  its  true  use  is  most  needed,  by 
the  substitution  of  other  terms  for  the  word  do.  To  show 
that  this  word  is  not  the  accident  of  occasion,  or  the  crea- 
ture of  the  caprice  of  man,  let  the  Scriptures  testify.  On 
one  occasion  three  thousand  cried  out,  saying:  "What 
shall  we  doV  Paul  himself,  when  met  by  the  Savior,  in- 
quired what  he  should  do?  And  the  blessings  of  God,  in 
the  dispensations  of  the  past  as  well  as  the  present,  are 
pronounced  upon  those  who  do  his  commandments.  It 
having  already  been  shown  that  the  salvation  spoken  of, 
is  a  salvation  from  sin,  it  will  plainly  enough  appear  that 
whatever  the  sinner  is  called  upon  to  do^  is  to  be  done  in 
order  to  that  salvation.  One  of  two  things  will,  therefore, 
follow:  there  must  be  something  definite  in  form  or  doc- 
trine, in  the  observance  of  which  the  sinner  may  know  his 
sins  are  forgiven,  or  the  answer  may  depend  upon  the 
ignorance  or  caprice  of  him  to  whom  the  question  is  ad- 
dressed. If  the  latter  be  true,  revelation  may  be  set  aside; 
for  if  a  preacher,  "on  the  spur  of  the  moment,"  may  give 
such  answer  as  seemeth  good  in  his  own  eyes,  all  revela- 
tion on  that  point  would  be  a  work  of  supererogation,  a 
proposition  so  manifestly  absurd  and  wicked  that  it  should 
but  be  mentioned  in  order  to  be  rejefted;  and  yet  with  its 
manifest  absurdity,  it  is  the  system  at  the  present  time 
most  constantly  pra6ticed  upon  among  those  attempting 
to  answer  the  question,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
On  the  other  hand,  if  there  be  a  definite  scriptural  answer, 
those  receiving  and  adling  upon  a  wrong  answer,  their  feel- 
ings and  imaginations  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding, 
will  fail  to  receive  the  pardon  of  their  sins. 

It  is  now  to  be  affirmed  that  the  Scriptures  do  contain 
an  explicit  answer  to  the  question  in  the  text;  that  this 
applied  in  the  days  of  apostolic  teaching  equally  and  alike 


O.  A.  BURGESS. 


to  all ;  that  whatever  elements  entered  into  the  answer  as 
given  to  one  sinner,  entered  into  it  as  given  to  every  sin- 
ner;  and  that,  as  Christ  has  not  changed  his  laws,  the 
same  answer  should  be  given  to  an  inquiring  sinner  to- 
day. If  it  now  be  asked,  what  are  the  elements  which 
make  up  a  Scriptural  answer  to  the  question,  "What  must 
I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  this  is  the  reply: 

I.  Faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  1.  Repentance 
toward  God.  3.  Immersion  into  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit. 

These,  it  will  be  shown,  enter  into  each  and  every  in- 
dividual case ;  and  that  whenever  the  express  mention  of 
any  one  or  more  of  these  is  omitted,  that  very  omission 
will  be  found  as  proof  that  those  elements  have  already 
entered  into  the  occasion,  and  accomplished  their  work. 
It  will  be  observed  in  passing,  too,  that  there  was  little 
or  no  delay;  that,  immediately  upon  hearing  the  terms 
of  salvation,  they  were  complied  with,  and  the  promised 
pardon  realized.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  God  requires 
fruits  worthy  of  repentance;  but  it  is  equally  true  that 
he  has  graciously  given  the  poor  sinner  the  privilege  of 
offering  a  broken  spirit  and  a  contrite  heart,  as  richer  than 
the  pains  of  penance,  and  a  willing  obedience  as  more 
precious  that  the  fat  of  rams. 

A  few  words  concerning  each  of  the  three  above  prop- 
ositions separately. 

I.  Faith  in  the  Christ.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that, 
at  the  very  first  step  toward  a  religious  life,  the  inquirer 
is  met  by  the  disputes  of  theology  and  the  subtleties  of 
metaphysics,  until  he  almost  calls  in  question  either  the 
reality  of  religion  itself,  or  the  sincerity  of  those  who 
profess  it.  The  great  question  of  faith  has  not  escaped 
these  snares.    The  tendency  of  the  human  mind  to  search 


174 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


for  hidden  causes,  trace  remote  results,  and  attempt  deep 
diving,  when  the  truth  rests  in  clear  and  beautiful  light 
just  upon  the  surface,  all  lend  obscurity  and  darkness, 
rather  than  dispel  the  clouds.  Faith,  for  instance,  is  held 
as  a  sort  of  creature  of  anatomy,  liable  at  any  time  to  re- 
ceive the  theological  dissedling-knife;  and,  as  a  student  in 
medicine  is  not  supposed  to  understand  the  human  sys- 
tem until  he  has  dissedled  and  separately  examined  every 
part  of  that  system,  so  it  is  held  that  man  may  not  have 
"evangelical  faith"  until  he  understands  its  firstly,  sec- 
ondly, etc.  How  strongly  this  contrasts  with  the  simple 
Scriptures,  three  or  four  of  which  will  give  the  key  to 
the  whole  subject  of  faith: 

"These  are  written  that  you  might  believe  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  believing,  you  might 
have  life  through  his  name." — John. 

"With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness." — 
Faul. 

"Faith  without  works  is  dead,  being  alone." — James. 

Here  it  must  be  seen  that  faith  is  comprehended  in  few 
words.  It  has  its  objedl,  Christ,  and  testimony  that 
Christ  may  be  believed  in;  its  subjeft,  man,  with  motives 
before  him  to  induce  him  to  believe;  and  its  adlion  or 
works,  else  it  is  dead,  being  alone;  and  it  thus  at  once 
and  forever  lifts  itself  above  the  doubtful  issues  of  intel- 
le<5lual  combat,  or  the  d'lEla  of  grave  and  reverend  seniors, 
to  that  sublime  height  where,  amid  the  pure  and  serene 
light  of  its  Divine  home,  it  may  make  its  appeal  to  the 
heart  of  man,  and  offer  him  the  deathless  joys  of  the  new 
and  better  Paradise  of  God.  And  this  word  heart  sim- 
ply signifies  all  the  strength  of  intellect,  all  the  warmth 
and  depth  of  the  emotions,  and  all  the  services  of  the  life. 
So  faith  simply  says  to  the  inquiring  sinner,  Lay  hold  on 


O.  A.  BURGESS. 


Christ  with  your  whole  heart,  and  surrender  to  him  your 
whole  life. 

2.  Repentance  toward  God.  .  Repentance,  like  faith,  is 
easy  of  apprehension  when  freed  from  the  mysticisms  of 
the  schools.  Repentance  may  be  stated  thus :  Repentance 
is  a  sorrow  for  past  sins,  and  such  a  sorrow  as  impels  the 
sinner  to  turn  away  from  those  sins,  and  sin  no  more. 
Whatever  terms  may  be  used  to  explain  or  expand  this 
statement,  they  will  not  add  to  its  value,  or  increase  its 
force.  It  may  be  urged,  for  example,  that  there  should 
be  a  godly  sorrow  for  sin ;  yet  what  sorrow  can  be  more 
godly  or  more  heart-felt  than  that  which  turns  the  sinner 
away  from  his  sins  to  sin  no  more?  God  does  not  require 
penance  of  the  sinner.  The  sooner,  therefore,  he  ceases 
to  sin,  the  sooner  he  may  cease  his  sorrow ;  and  as  God 
desires  joy  to  fill  the  heart,  it  is  evident  that  repentance 
should  be  a  speedy  work,  so  that  the  man  may  dry  his 
tears  and  rejoice  in  God. 

But  repentance  is  said  to  be  "toward  God."  This  is 
eminently  proper,  because  his  law  has  been  broken  by 
the  sinner,  and  his  charader  as  a  law-maker  thereby  chal- 
lenged ;  for  whether  man  will  so  acknowledge  it  or  not, 
it  is  most  certainly  true  that,  whenever  any  law  is  broken, 
the  immediate  effed  of  that  transgression  is  to  call  in 
question  the  ability  or  goodness  of  the  law-making  power. 
It  is  saying  to  that  power,  we  will  take  the  law  into 
our  own  hands ;  we  will  be  a  law  unto  ourselves.  Nor 
will  it  change  the  issue  to  complain  that  the  law  is  based 
simply  in  authority;  for  there  can  be  no  higher  test  of 
obedience  than  by  the  simple  recognition  of  authority. 
But  whether  the  sinner  be  regarded  as  violating  a  law  of 
moral  qualities,  or  a  law  absolute,  in  either  case  he  must 
he  held  as  having  committed  the  gravest  of  offenses  against 


1-6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


God,  and,  therefore,  his  early  and  sincere  repentance 
should  be  "toward  God." 

3.  Immersion  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit.  Of  this  it  need  only  be  said,  it  is  the  illustra- 
tive sequence  of  the  above  arguments.  It  places  man 
in  position  to  know  for  himself  whether  he  will  or  will 
not  surrender  himself  without  reserve,  and  without  condi- 
tions, to  the  authority  of  an  absolute  law-giver.  And  this 
test  is  put  in  the  form  of  an  immersion,  in  order  that  the 
entire  burial  of  the  body  may  show  the  entire  giving  up 
of  body,  soul,  and  spirit  to  Christ;  and,  whereas,  no  other 
single  adl  can  do  this,  so  no  other  mode,  institution, 
covenant,  law,  ordinance,  commandment,  or  by  whatever 
other  name  things  or  principles  may  be  designated,  can, 
by  a  single  adl,  bring  the  penitent  sinner  into  relation  with 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  The  ordinance,  therefore, 
must  not  only  be  immersion,  but  immersion  into  these 
three  names. 

It  only  now  remains  to  be  shown,  that  the  apostles  of 
the  Savior  taught  every  man  or  woman  asking  what  they 
must  do  to  be  saved,  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
repent  of  their  sins,  and  be  immersed  into  the  name  of 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  Let  the  case  in  hand,  from 
which  the  text  is  taken,  be  the  first.  The  jailer  at  Phil- 
ippi,  but  a  few  hours  ago,  was  nearly  or  altogether  igno- 
rant of  the  charader  of  Christ  and  the  mission  of  his 
apostles ;  and,  under  the  command  of  his  superiors,  united, 
doubtless,  with  a  will  of  his  own,  he  had  inflided  needless 
severity  of  punishment  upon  Paul  and  Silas,  and  thrust 
them  into  the  stocks.  He  knew  little  till  that  night  of 
the  faith  of  Christ.  It  was,  therefore,  but  the  didate  of 
common  sense,  as  well  as  Scripture  order,  that  faith 
should  be  the  first  thing  preached  to  him.    As  the  preach- 


O.  A.  BURGESS. 


177 


ing  proceeded,  the  simple  narrative  states  that  "the  Word 
of  the  Lord"  was  preached  unto  the  jailer  and  those  in 
his  house.  The  same  hour  of. the  night,  the  jailer  was 
immersed.  Now,  it  is  to  be  admitted,  that  in  the  nar- 
rative repentance  is  not  mentioned.  To  this  apparent 
negledt  of  inspired  men  to  present  an  element  of  the 
Gospel  so  important  in  the  work  of  salvation,  there  may 
be  two  answers:  first,  the  dodlrine  of  repentance  is  held 
by  all  religious  people  to  be  of  such  consequence  that  an 
inference  in  its  favor  in  this  case  might  be  presumed,  and 
the  concurrent  assent  of  such  would  be,  as  is  often  done, 
taken  by  the  inquirer  as  sufficient  evidence  of  its  neces- 
sity ;  second,  and  without  this  rnere  argumentum  ad  homineniy 
it  is  the  true  argument,  simply  to  remind  the  querist  or 
objedlor  that  "the  Word  of  the  Lord"  was  preached  to 
the  jailer,  and  that  repentance  was  an  integral  part  of 
"  the  Word  of  the  Lord,"  since  the  Lord  himself  had 
commanded  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sin  should 
be  preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations. 

Paul  and  Silas  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  true  to 
their  Master  on  that  occasion  without  preaching  the  en- 
tire Gospel.  The  history  of  the  jailer  now  stands  thus: 
That  faith  was  preached  to  him,  is  known  by  positive 
declaration  of  Scripture;  that  repentance  was  preached  to 
him,  is  known  by  inference  amounting  in  effed  to  demon- 
stration; and  that  immersion  was  preached,  is  also  known 
by  declaration  of  Scripture,  for  he  was  immersed  the  same 
hour  of  the  night.  To  determine  the  immediate  effed: 
of  all  this  upon  the  jailer  as  touching  his  question,  "Sirs, 
what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  the  Scriptures  declare  that 
he  rejoiced,  believing  in  God  with  all  his  house;  and,  if 
rejoicing  is  to  be  taken  as  an  evidence  of  pardon,  as  so 
commonly  held,  or  as  properlv  held,  the  effed  of  the 
12 


178 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


knowledge  of  pardon,  then,  in  either  case,  it  must  be  con- 
ceded that  the  jailer  obtained,  the  same  hour  of  the  night, 
just  the  salvation  for  which  he  asked. 

Here  the  whole  subjeft  of  this  discourse  might  be 
rested,  in  the  confident  assurance  that,  as  the  Scriptures 
can  not  contradidl  themselves,  the  answer  to  a  sinner  at 
Philippi  would  be  equally  good  in  any  other  latitude  or 
longitude  of  the  world;  and  the  answer,  because  eighteen 
hundred  years  old,  is  more  than  eighteen  hundred  times 
better  than  answers  of  more  modern  date  and  more  pop- 
ular fashion,  its  very  antiquity  taking  it  into  the  purity 
of  apostolic  teaching.  But  it  has  been  promised  to  be 
shown  that  the  other  cases  of  the  nNcw  Testament  contain 
the  same  elements  in  answer.  Let  the  attention,  then, 
next  be  turned  to  Ads  ii:  37,  38.  Here,  in  efFed,  is  the 
same  question — WJiat  must  we  do  ?  The  answer,  prop- 
erly *enough,  begins  with  repentance.  Faith  is  not  men- 
tioned. Here,  too,  the  argument um  ad  hominum  might  be 
resorted  to.  Every  body  holds  faith  necessary  to  salva- 
tion ;  and,  therefore,  every  body  will  hold  that  faith  was 
in  some  manner  connefted  with  this  occasion,  though  not 
mentioned.  The  solution  is,  they  were  pricked  in  their 
hearts,  and  thus  gave,  in  the  estimation  of  the  apostles, 
sufficient  evidence  of  faith  ;  and,  without  wasting  words 
on  learned  disquisitions  on  faith,  its  parts  or  philosophy, 
the  apostles  moved  right  forward,  commanding  every  one 
of  them  to  repent  and  be  immersed.  In  this  they  were 
promised  the  pardon  of  their  sins,  which,  obeying,  they 
received,  as  evinced  by  their  rejoicing  and  gladness.  In 
this,  as  before,  it  is  found  that  faith,  repentance,  and  im- 
mersion were  preached  in  answer  to  the  question,  "What 
shall  we  do  to  be  saved?"  and  that,  without  delay,  the 


O.  A.  BURGESS. 


179 


terms  were  accepted,  the  salvation  obtained,  and  their 
hearts  made  glad. 

Let  Paul's  conversion  come  next.  He  asked  direftly 
of  the  Lord  what  he  should  do.  The  Lord  honored  him 
with  no  other  answer  than  to  go  into  Damascus,  and  there 
it  should  be  told  him.  Then  the  Lord  sent  to  him 
Ananias,  who  made  a  long  sermon  very  short,  by  simply 
commanding  him  to  Arise  and  be  immersed.  Paul  obey- 
ing, straightway  received  his  sight,  ate  his  food,  and  was 
told  without  delay  to  preach  the  faith  he  once  labored  to 
destroy.  In  Paul's  case,  doubtless,  above  all  others,  the 
tricks  of  the  sophist  could  be  brought  to  bear,  to  show 
that  nothing  but  immersion  was  preached  to  him;  and 
thus  give  a  far  more  plausible  plea  for  salvation  by  water 
alone,  as  the  Christians  are  sometimes  slanderously  re- 
ported as  saying,  than  could  be  found  for  others  in  the 
plea  for  salvation  by  faith  alone.  But  the  Christians 
make  no  such  plea.  Paul,  like  others,  had  received,  on 
his  way  to  Damascus,  abundant  evidences  on  which  to 
build  a  faith  in  Christ.  He  had,  in  the  very  blindness 
with  which  he  was  stricken,  a  clear  vision  of  his  sins,  of 
which  he  at  once  repented.  There  remained  but  one 
thing  to  save  him  from  his  past  sins,  and  that  Ananias 
immediately  announced — Arise  and  be  immersed.  It  is 
not  to  be  doubted  but  Ananias  might  have  discoursed 
eloquently  on  faith  in  all  its  parts;  on  repentance  in  all 
its  emotions;  but  no  such  work' was  needed.  The  dis- 
course that  was  needed  was  given,  was  obeyed,  the  salva- 
tion obtained,  and  the  great  question,  "  What  must  I  do  ?" 
again  answered  in  the  same  terms,  "Believe,  repent,  and 
be  immersed." 

It  will  now  be  proper  to  point  out  the  chief  charafter- 
istic  on  account  of  which  these  three  instances  have  been 


i8o 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


made  representative.  It  is  this:  that  at  whatever  point 
the  preaching  was  needed,  that  being  determined  by  the 
fadls  in  the  case,  just  at  that  point  the  preaching  began. 
Thus,  with  the  jailer,  it  began  with  faith,  and  ended  with 
immersion;  with  the  three  thousand  it  began  with  repent- 
ance, and  ended  with  immersion;  and  with  Paul,  it  began 
and  ended  with  immersion.  In  one  of  these,  the  mention 
of  faith  is  omitted;  in  another,  the  mention  of  repentance; 
and  in  the  other,  the  mention  of  both  faith  and  repent- 
ance. Now,  it  has  particularly  been  shown  that  these 
were  not  absent  in  faft  because  absent  in  name;  and  this, 
too,  not  because  any  body  doubts  their  presence,  but  in 
order  to  show  the  proper  argument  for  their  presence,  viz., 
that  "the  Word  of  the  Lord"  was  preached;  for  while, 
by  a  common  consent,  the  se6laries  admit  the  presence  of 
faith  and  repentance,  even  by  remotest  inference,  they  are 
equally  ready  to  exclude  immersion,  though  it  be  plainly 
mentioned.  The  burden  of  the  argument,  therefore,  has 
been  to  repudiate  the  mere  common  consent  plea,  and 
show  that  if  "the  Word  of  the  Lord"  can  not  be  preached 
without  preaching  faith  and  repentance,  neither  can  it  be 
without  preaching  immersion.  And  every  candid  person 
must  admit  that  we  have  the  argument  clearly,  since,  in 
the  three  cases  already  used,  or  in  those  about  to  be  used, 
the  mention  of  faith  and  repentance  is  often  omitted,  the 
mention  of  immersion  never. 

No  matter  now  which  way  the  attention  be  turned, 
these  principles  remain  unchanged.  If  the  Ethiopian  be 
inquired  of,  he  will  simply  narrate  that  while  reading 
Isaiah,  without  so  much  as  knowing  whether  the  prophet 
spake  of  himself  or  some  other  man,  a  preacher  came 
along,  and,  beginning  at  the  same  Scripture,  preached 
Christ.    Not  a  word  of  the  details  of  the  sermon  is  given. 


O.  A.  BURGESS. 


i8i 


but  a  result  reached  is  plainly  stated:  they  came  to  a  cer- 
tain water,  and  the  Ethiopian  was  immersed.  If  the  Sa- 
maritans be  inquired  of,  they  simply  respond  that  they 
believed  Philip  preaching  the  things  concerning  the  king- 
dom of  God  and  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  were  im- 
mersed, both  men  and  women.  The  city  of  Corinth  gives 
the  same  response,  for,  many  of  the  Corinthians  hear- 
ing, believed  and  were  immersed.  Sister  Lydia's  heart  is 
opened,  and  immersion  immediately  follows.  If  Peter  and 
the  Gentiles  are  sought  after,  that  bold  apostle  is  found 
demanding  who  dare  forbid  water  for  a  grand  immersion. 
And  if  the  palaces  of  the  Eternal  City,  so  long  echoing  to 
the  tread  of  the  mighty  Caesars,  be  laid  under  contribution, 
behold,  Paul  is  there,  though  in  clanking  chains,  declaring 
that  every  Roman  that  received  Christ  had  been  immersed 
into  him.  Galatia  and  Colosse  add  their  testimony,  until, 
like  colossal  monuments,  these  truths  tower  to  the  very 
heavens,  more  splendid  than  gilded  palaces,  and  more  du- 
rable than  marble  and  brass. 

To  make  now  a  brief  note  of  the  negative  of  this  whole 
subjedt,  there  will  be  found  but  one  argument  that  ever  has 
assumed  even  the  show  of  plausibility;  this  is  in  the  ques- 
tion, "What  shall  I  do.^"  as  addressed  by  a  certain  young 
man  to  the  Savior.  Various  modifications  of  the  same 
objedion  are  found,  as  in  the  thief  on  the  cross.  These, 
however,  will  all  receive  the  same  answer.  If,  indeed,  the 
answer  which  the  young  man  received  be  taken  as  the 
standard,  it  would  be  quite  as  well  to  desist  from  all  ef- 
forts to  save  men;  for  apart  of  that  answer  was,  "Sell  all 
thou  hast,  and  give  it  to  the  poor."  Such  a  method  of  sal- 
vation failed  even  in  that  case,  though  it  was  received  from 
the  Savior's  own  lips.  There  must  be  something  wrong, 
either  in  the  answer  or  in  its  application;  the  former  can 


l82 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


not  be  true,  for  the  Savior  could  not  fail  to  suit  the  occa- 
sion; the  mistake,  therefore,  must  consist  in  attempting 
to  make  a  general  application  of  a  special  case,  for  nowhere 
afterward  did  Christ  command  that  method  of  salvation 
to  be  preached.  The  same  is  true  of  the  thief  on  the  cross, 
and  all  similar  cases  of  special  salvation.  The  answer 
to  the  whole  objedlion  is,  that  while  Christ  was  on  earth, 
he  used  his  power  to  forgive  sin,  as  his  power  to  raise  the 
dead,  just  as  it  seemed  good  in  his  own  eyes;  but,  being 
about  to  depart  from  earth,  never  more  in  person  to  min- 
ister to  the  wants  of  men,  he  gave  to  his  apostles  a  short 
and  simple  law,  which  should  be  equally  applicable  to  the 
beggar  and  the  prince,  and  in  the  acceptance  of  which  all 
might  be  saved.  This  law  he  commanded  them  to  preach 
in  all  the  world,  and  this  law  contained  the  three  terms. 
Faith,  Repentance,  and  Immersion.  If,  therefore,  any  man 
or  woman  will  inquire  "  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? " 
let  them  consider  for  themselves  how  far  their  desire  for 
salvation  has  already  led  them;  if  so  far  that  they  believe 
in  Christ,  let  them  repent;  if  so  far  that  they  have  re- 
pented, let  them  be  immersed;  and  let  this  be  done  accord- 
ing to  Scripture  example,  immediately,  that  they  may  know 
they  are  pardoned,  and  be  filled  with  joy  and  gladness. 
Moreover,  let  the  servants  of  Christ,  to  whom  such  a 
momentous  question  may  be  addressed,  consider  well  the 
occasion  and  surroundings,  and,  if  like  the  jailer,  there  be 
an  ignorance  of  Christ,  let  faith  first  be  preached,  but  im- 
merse, if  need  be,  the  same  hour  of  the  night;  if  like  the 
three  thousand,  they  already  believe,  preach  repentance, 
and  immerse  the  same  day;  but  if  like  Paul,  there  be  but 
one  thing  lacking,  preach  that  one  thing,  and  if  the  in- 
quirer be  as  honest  as  Paul,  he  will  be  immersed  straight- 
way. 


•  O.  A.  BURGESS. 


Thus,  in  any  and  under  all  circumstances,  when  a  sin- 
ner cries  out,  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  the 
answer,  in  clear  and  explicit  terms,  is  always  at  hand: 
"  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  repent  of,  and  turn 
away  from,  your  sins,  and  be  immersed  into  the  name  of 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit." 

Happy  is  that  minister  of  Christ,  who  knoweth  to  give 
such  an  answer;  and  thrice  happy  that  man  or  woman  hon- 
est enough  and  humble  enough  to  receive  and  a6l  upon  it, 
for  they  shall  receive  remission  of  sins,  and  rejoice  with 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 

May  the  day  be  not  far  distant,  when  the  jargon  of 
doubtful  creeds,  and  the  disputes  of  zealous  sedlaries  shall 
be  displaced  by  the  Divine  symmetry  of  heaven's  own 
truth,  and  the  earnest  pleadings  of  a  united  Church;  when 
salvation  shall  flow  as  a  river,  and  all  the  ends  of  the  earth 
be  saved. 


1 


-i 
J 


GEORGE  W.  LONGAN. 


TT^EW  of  our  readers,  outside  of  Missouri,  are  familiar  with  the  name  of 
this  excellent  brother.  His  labors  have  been  confined  chiefly  to  his 
native  State,  and  even  there,  seldom,  if  ever,  operating  beyond  the  southern 
portion.  Although  he  has  contributed  some  able  articles  to  our  periodi- 
cals, these  have  generally  appeared  without  his  proper  signature,  and,  con- 
sequently, have  done  little  or  nothing  toward  introducing  his  name  to  the 
people.  He  is  esteemed,  however,  by  those  who  know  him,  as  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  useful  men  among  the  Disciples  in  the  State  where  he  rc 
sides. 

George  W.  Longan  was  born  in  the  town  of  Chariton,  Missouri, 
December  31,  1819.  Missouri  was  then  a  Territory,  and  as  he  has  always 
lesided  there,  he  is  quite  familiar  with  the  history  of  that  young,  but 
rapidly-growing  State. 

His  parents  removed  from  Virginia  to  Kentucky,  and  thence  to  Mis- 
souri. They  were  poor,  and  went  to  Missouri  soon  after  their  marriage, 
m  order  to  identify  their  fortunes  with  that  promising  country.  The 
lather  was  a  member  of  the  first  Legislature  of  the  State  after  its  admission 
into  the  Union.  Reared  in  a  frontier  country,  where  there  were  no  col- 
leges, and  few  good  schools  of  any  grade,  the  son  had  little  or  no  opportu- 
nities to  obtain  a  first-class  education.  But,  by  diligent  application  to  study, 
he  acquired  a  fair  knowledge  of  English,  and  also  made  considerable  pro- 
gress in  Latin;  so  that  he  is  now  a  respeftable  scholar,  notwithstanding  the 
difficulties  under  which  he  has  had  to  labor.  He  is  emphatically  a  self- 
made  man,  and  has  all  the  vigor,  zeal,  and  independence  that  usually  char- 
afterize  that  class  of  men. 

His  parents  were  Baptists,  but,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  Word 
oi  God,  he  embraced  the  views  of  the  Disciples,  and  was  baptized  by  the 
well-known  evangelist,  Allen  Wright,  in  1 844.  In  forming  his  religious 
conviftions,  he  was  much  indebted  to  the  writings  of  Alexander  Camp- 
bell, and  especially  the  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  which  he  pub- 
lished with  prefaces,  annotations,  etc.    Referring  to  his  religious  position 

(I8S) 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Brother  Longan  says:  "When  I  became  a  Disciple,  I  stood  alone  among 
my  relations ;  not  one  of  them,  so  far  as  known  to  me,  occupying  the  same 
ground."  His  only  uncle  on  his  father's  side  was  a  pioneer  preacher  among 
the  Baptists,  of  great  natural  ability  and  large  influence. 

He  commenced  preaching  about  two  years  after  his  immersion,  but  for  a 
number  of  years  was  very  much  circumscribed  in  his  labors,  having  to  toil 
on  a  farm  or  in  the  school-room  to  support  his  family,  preaching  only  Sat- 
urdays and  Sundays,  and  that  almost  entirely  at  his  own  expense.  In  speak- 
ing of  those  discouraging  times,  he  says :  "  The  brethren  were  very  few  in 
the  sedlion  where  I  then  lived.  I  remember  when  brother  William  Wil- 
liams, who  still  lives,  was  the  only  advocate  of  the  ancient  order  of  things 
in  the  bounds  of  my  acquaintance — perhaps  in  several  counties." 

More  recently  he  has  devoted  himself  almost  exclusively  to  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel,  and  although  he  has  never  been  noted  as  a  successlul 
recruiter,  his  labors  have  not  been  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  He  has  done 
much  toward  giving  permanent  success  to  the  cause  in  Southern  Missouri, 
and  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  preachers  in  the  State.  His 
present  field  of  labor  is  Sedalia,  Dresden,  and  Warrensburg. 

As  a  speaker,  he  addresses  the  judgment  rather  than  the  passions ;  is 
more  of  a  logician  than  a  rhetorician  or  elocutionist;  is  devoted  to  the 
primiti%'e  Gospel,  and  has  no  faith  in  innovations  or  improvements  in  re- 
ligion. As  a  close,  logical  reasoner,  with  either  the  pen  or  tongue,  he  has 
few  superiors  in  the  ranks  of  the  Disciples,  though  his  natural  modesty,  as 
well  as  the  unfavorable  circumstances  by  which  he  has  been  surrounded, 
has  kept  him  from  becoming  very  generally  known. 


THE  CONDITIONS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 
REASONABLE. 


BY  G.  W.  LONGAN. 


"For  the  Jews  ask  for  a  sign  from  heaven,  and  the  Greeks  demand  a 
system  of  philosophy;  but  we  proclaim  a  Messiah  crucified,  to  the  Jews 
a  stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  a  folly ;  but  to  the  called  themselves, 
whether  they  be  Jews  or  Greeks,  Christ,  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom 
of  God." — I  CoR.  i:  23,  24,  (Conybeare's  Trans.) 

JESUS,  the  Son  of  God,  is  the  great  central  personage 
of  the  Divine  history.  All  human  charadlers,  how- 
ever great  and  good,  are  subordinate  to  him,  and  their 
names  appear  in  the  Sacred  Volume  only  because  of  the 
relationship  they  bear  to  him  in  his  fleshly  lineage,  or  in 
order  to  the  better  unfolding  of  his  mission  of  mercy  to 
the  world.  So  the  Cross  of  Christ  is  the  grand  central 
idea  in  the  System  of  Redemption.  Every  other  concep- 
tion in  the  wide  range  of  revealed  truth  is  subordinate  to 
this,  and  is  more  or  less  important,. as  it  is  more  or  less 
closely  related  to  this  grand  center  of  the  remedial  econ- 
omy. Christ,"  the  "  Cross  of  Christ,"  and  "  Christ  cru- 
cified," are  to  be  taken  as  comprehensive  generalizations, 
including  every  precious  truth  which  enters  into  that  won- 
drous system  revealed  upon  the  blessed  pages  of  the  Book 
of  books.   To  preach  "  Christ,"  or  "  the  Cross  of  Christ," 

(187) 


i88 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


or  "Christ  crucified,"  is,  therefore,  to  preach  the  Gospel 
in  its  broadest  amplitude.  "Philip  began  at  the  same 
scripture,  and  preached  to  him  Jesus.  And  as  they  went 
on  their  way,  they  came  to  a  certain  water,  and  the  eunuch 
said,  See,  here  is  water ;  what  doth  hinder  me  to  be  bap- 
tized ? "  Here  we  learn  that  "  to  preach  Jesus  "  is  to  preach 
the  whole  Gospel.  When  Philip  preached  Jesus,  the  eu- 
nuch learned  that  it  was  his  duty  not  only  to  believe,  but 
even  to  be  baptized.  The  expressions  "  Christ "  and 
"  Christ  crucified,"  in  the  text,  are  clearly  to  be  under- 
stood in  the  same  way.  They  stand  for  the  entire  Gospel. 
Of  this,  I  presume  to  say,  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever. 
Substituting,  therefore,  for  "Christ  crucified"  its  proper 
equivalent.  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  omitting,  without  vio- 
lence to  the  meaning  of  the  apostle,  what  is  unnecessary 
to  my  present  purpose,  we  have  the  following  somewhat 
startling  proposition  distinftly  enunciated,  viz. :  The 
Gospel  of  Christ  is  both  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God. 
To  the  latter  affirmation  in  this  apostolic  deliverance  I 
propose  to  call  your  attention  in  this  discourse.  I  shall 
accept  the  apostle's  words  in  the  fullness  of  their  meaning. 
I  am  troubled  with  no  skeptical  misgivings  on  this  ques- 
tion. I  believe,  with  my  whole  heart,  that  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  the 'wisdom  of  the  infinite  Jehovah.  I 
shall  proceed  to  give  some  of  the  reasons  for  this  faith. 

The  created  universe,  in  all  its  visible,  tangible,  sub- 
stantive forms,  is  merely  phenomenal.  Change  is  written 
all  over  it  in  legible  chara6lers  by  the  finger  of  the  Almighty 
himself.  The  mighty  forces  which  are  ceaselessly  working 
throughout  the  domain  of  matter  only  obey  his  behests, 
and  accomplish  the  counsels  of  his  will.  That  will  is  law 
to  the  farthest  bound  of  the  creation,  and  in  that  which  is 
purely  material  has  never  been  disobeyed.   Laws  which  are 


G.  W.  LONGAN. 


189 


but  the  outgoings  of  the  will  of  Jehovah,  underlie  all  the 
sublime  and  wondrous  manifestations  beneath  us,  above 
us,  and  around  us.  It  is  impossible  for  a  thinking  man 
to  escape  the  conclusion  that  God  works  throughout  nature 
by  laws  as  eternal  as  are  the  foundations  of  his  own  throne. 
The  laws  of  mind  are  no  less  fixed  and  unchangeable  than 
the  laws  of  matter.  The  principles  which  form  the  basis 
of  God's  moral  government  are  as  immutable  as  those  by 
which  he  determines  the  manifold  phenomena  of  the  phys- 
ical creation.  Whatever  is  reducible  to  necessary  principles 
is,  therefore,  in  harmony  with  the  highest  wisdom.  If, 
then,  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  in  all  its  provisions  and  in  all 
its  requirements,  is  based  upon  unchanging  principles,  and 
springs  up  necessarily  from  the  very  relations  which  sub- 
sist between  God  and  men,  for  whom  it  is  intended,  then 
is  God's  wisdom  in  giving  the  Gospel  vindicated,  and  our 
obligation  to  obey  it  certainly  established.  The  enlight- 
ened Christian  does  not  fear  an  appeal  to  reason.  He  does 
not  deify  reason,  and  fall  down  and  pay  it  idolatrous  hom- 
age ;  he  does  not  depend  upon  it  for  the  knowledge  of  God, 
nor  dare  to  rationalize  into  myth  and  fable  the  teachings  of 
the  Divine  Word  ;  but  grounding  the  highest  and  holiest 
beliefs  of  his  heart  upon  that  Word,  and  accepting  every 
sentence  and  every  syllable  as  divine,  he  does  not  fear 
either  the  logic  or  the  laugh  of  any  daring  infidel  who  may 
assault  the  faith  that  sustains  his  soul.  He  believes  that 
as  right  reason  is  from  God,  and  is  one  of  his  best  gifts, 
so  God's  Gospel,  though  confessedly  above  reason,  is, 
nevertheless,  in  perfeft  harmony  with  its  most  exalted 
demonstrations. 

I  f  these  premises  are  true,  then  every  thing  in  the  Gospel 
has  its  reason.  Nothing  has  been  done  without  an  end, 
and  nothing  is  required  without  a  necessity.    V7hen  God 


190 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


sent  his  Son  into  the  world,  there  was  a  reason  for  it;  there 
was  an  end  to  be  gained  that  could  not  be  gained  in  any 
other  way.  When  Jesus  died,  there  was  a  necessity  for  it. 
It  was  not  merely  an  arbitrary  arrangement,  that  might 
as  well  have  been  dispensed  with  as  not.  God  does  noth- 
ing without  a  reason  ;  so  in  the  conditions  of  the  Gospel 
there  is  a  reason  for  every  thing  that  God  requires.  There 
is  no  condition  imposed  without  a  corresponding  necessity. 
God  does  nothing  without  areason  himself,  and  demands 
nothing  without  a  reason  from  men.  If  the  Gospel  of  Je- 
sus Christ  is  reasonable,  then  it  is  adapted  to  man  as  he  is; 
to  man  in  his  present  attitude  to  God's  throne,  and  law, 
and  government;  to  man  in  his  relations  to  time  and  to 
eternity.  Such  an  adaptation  demonstrated,  and  the  Gos- 
pel is  shown  to  be  Divine,  and  its  wisdom  vindicated  as  the 
wisdom  of  God. 

The  Gospel  scheme  is  built  upon  the  assumption  that 
men,  in  their  present  relations  to  God,  are  sinners.  There 
is  no  attempt  in  the  Bible  to  develop  this  conclusion  by 
logical  processes  or  philosophical  speculation.  The  first 
preachers  of  the  Gospel  proceeded  in  this  matter  very  much 
as  Moses  did  in  opening  up  to  the  world  the  grand  drama 
of  the  creation.  He  does  not  philosophize  to  establish 
the  existence  of  Jehovah,  but  breaks  upon  us  suddenly 
with  the  startling  announcement,  "In  the  beginning  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth."  So  the  apostles  ap- 
proach men  just  as  though  it  were  a  patent  and  undeniable 
fad  that  all  are  sinners.  They  appeal  to  universal  con- 
sciousness, and  all  hearts  respond  to  the  appeal,  as  the  eye 
to  light,  or  the  ear  to  sound. 

The  Gospel  is  intended  for  sinners.  It  is  adapted  only 
to  sinners.  If,  therefore,  men  are  not  sinners,  they  do 
not  need  the  Gospel.    If  men  are  not  lost,  or  in  danger 


G.  W,  LONGAN. 


191 


of  being  lost,  they,  do  not  need  a  Savior.  If  men  are  not 
guilty,  they  do  not  need  forgiveness.  Come,  then,  scoff- 
ing infidel,  laughing  at  the  wisdom  of  God  with  heaven - 
defying  presumption,  as  though  it  were  worse  than  human 
folly,  come,  meet  us  now  at  this  first  step  in  our  investiga- 
tions, and  overturn  the  very  foundation  upon  which  the 
Gospel  rests.  Deny,  if  you  will,  that  you  are  a  sinner. 
Let  there  be  no  faltering  here.  Meet  the  issue  like  an 
honest  man.  The  day  is  coming  when  the  secrets  of  that 
heart  can  no  longer  be  buried  in  the  mysterious  depths  of 
your  own  consciousness.  Be  candid,  speak  out,  and  let 
heaven  witness  the  integrity  of  your  avowal. 

There  never  was  a  heart  thus  questioned  that  answered 
honestly,  but  the  answer  was  the  same.  "There  is  none 
righteous,  no  not  one;  there  is  none  that  understandeth ; 
there  is  none  that  seeketh  after  God;  they  are  all  gone  out 
of  the  way;  they  are  altogether  become  unprofitable;  there 
is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not  one."  Such  is  the  uni- 
versal proposition  that  underlies  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 
If  this  be  not  true,  the  Gospel  is  a  delusion,  and  Jesus 
an  impostor  and  cheat.  But  this  true,  and  we  have  the 
first  link  in  that  grand  chain  of  adaptations  that  demon- 
strates the  Gospel  to  be  divine,  and  vindicates  the  wisdom 
of  God  in  the  redemption  offered  to  the  world.  God  is 
the  rightful  Lawgiver  in  the  universe  which  he  has  made. 
All  men  on  earth,  as  well  as  all  angels  in  heaven,  are  under 
law  to  him.  The  eternal  distindion  between  right  and 
wrong  has  been  disregarded.  Our  entire  race  has  trampled 
upon  the  Divine  will  and  defied  the  Divine  authority.  If 
these  things  are  not  so,  then  the  axiomata  of  science,  the 
intuitions  of  the  understanding,  are  a  delusion,  a  dream, 
and  all  human  knowledge  a  myth,  a  fantasm,  an  airy  gam- 
bol of  the  unbridled  imagination.    The  first  great  want  of 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


our  race  is,  therefore,  the  favor  of  an  offended  God,  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  Deep  in  the 
recesses  of  every  heart,  that  has  by  law  obtained  the  knowl- 
edge of  sin,  reposes  this  conviction.  You  could  as  easily 
overturn  the  very  foundations  of  all  thought  and  all  faith 
as  eradicate  this  convidtion,  thus  obtained,  from  the  soul 
where  reason  holds  its  sway. 

Assuming,  then,  as  a  great  first  truth  this  undeniable 
fadl  regarding  our  relations  to  the  God  that  made  us,  the 
Gospel  comes  to  us  tendering  a  heaven-originated  remedy 
for  the  danger  to  which  we  stand  rhomentarily  exposed. 
It  offers  pardon  of  sin,  peace  with  God,  and  a  home  in 
heaven.  If  this  Gospel  is  divine,  then  there  is  balm  in 
Gilead;  there  is  a  physician  come  to  us  whose  skill  we  may 
trust  with  a  confidence  that  knows  no  fear,  and  is  strong- 
est still  when  the  storm-cloud  of  danger  lowers  darkest 
above  us.  But  if  this  Gospel  is  not  divine,  then  is  the 
world  a  desert  waste,  and  life  a  burden  to  be  borne  with 
ceaseless  sighs  and  tears. 

In  the  Gospel  tender  of  salvation,  every  thing  is  based 
upon  what  Christ  has  done  for  us.  His  blood  is  "the 
fountain  for  sin  and  uncleanness."  He,  himself,  is  the 
*'  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  He 
is  the  antitype  of  every  bleeding  vidlim  slain  as  a  sin-offer- 
ing from  the  very  morning  of  time.  It  is  only  through 
him  that  God  proposes  to  be  merciful  to  men,  and  it  is 
only  in  him  that  we  find  peace  with  God,  and  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins.  It  is  no  part  of  my  present  purpose  to  en- 
ter into  the  rationale  of  this  part  of  heaven's  grand  remedy 
for  human  guilt.  That  a  philosophy,  as  profound  as  the 
depths  of  the  Infinite  Mind,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the 
death  of  Jesus,  I  believe  as  devoutly  as  I  believe  in  God, 
or  in  the  conscious  emotions  of  my  own  soul.    But  the 


G.  W.  LONGAN. 


theme  were  too  broad  for  my  present  limits,  too  grand  for 
one  who  feels  himself  but  a  child  in  the  deep  things  of  God. 
Waiving,  then,  for  the  present,  all  inquiries  into  this  sub- 
limest  of  all  subjedls,  I  pass  to  consider  the  conditions 
upon  which  the  tender  of  salvation  has  been  made.  I  de- 
voutly believe  that  these  conditions  are  precisely  what  they 
ought  to  be.  I  am  sure  there  is  an  adequate  reason  for 
each  step  that  the  sinner  is  required  to  take.  I  am  cer- 
tain nothing  is  demanded  which  is  not  worthy  of  the  Jeho- 
vah that  makes  the  demand.  To  show  this  to  be  true  is 
my  present  task. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  I  assume  it  as  certain,  that  the 
salvation  tendered  in  the  Gospel  is  not  an  unconditional 
salvation.  The  Gospel  itself  is  not  an  universal  declara- 
tion of  amnesty  to  sinners  without  a  pioviso  or  a  limita- 
tion. The  amnesty  offered  can  only  be  enjoyed  by  com- 
plying with  the  terms  prescribed.  Without  the  death  of 
Christ,  the  grace  of  pardon  would  not,  could  not,  have 
been  offered.  But  with  the  death  of  Christ,  the  wisdom 
of  God  still  declares  that  other  questions  are  involved, 
which  must  not  be  overlooked  in  granting  the  boon  of 
forgiveness  to  the  world.  These  other  questions  concern 
the  status  of  the  sinner  himself.  Is  his  present  position 
to  the  law  and  government  of  the  Almighty  such  as  to 
justify  his  forgiveness  ?  No  earthly  ruler  would  feel  him- 
self authorized  to  extend  clemency  to  an  offender  against 
the  law,  without  considering  the  status  of  the  offender 
himself.  Does  he  realize  the  magnitude  of  his  crime  .f*  Is 
there  reason  to  believe  that,  if  he  shall  be  pardoned  now, 
he  will  not  again  repeat  the  offense?  How  is  he  at  pres- 
ent affedled  to  the  law  ?  And  what  reasons  are  there  to 
conclude,  if  past  infradions  are  overlooked,  that  he  will 
obey  it  faithfully  in  time  to  come.?  And  what  influence 
13 


194 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


may  the  exercise  of  clemency  in  this  case  have  upon  others 
who  may  be  tempted  to  similar  offenses?  Will  others, 
seeing  the  impunity  in  this  case,  and  looking  for  a  like 
impunity  themselves,  be  thereby  encouraged  to  disregard 
the  authority  of  the  state,  and  trample  under  foot  its  most 
solemnly  enaded  laws?  Wisdom  demands  that  questions 
like  these  shall  be  duly  considered,  and  the  earthly  ruler, 
who  should  a6t  in  disregard  of  the  principles  here  implied, 
would  justly  incur  the  contempt  of  all  right-thinking  men. 
In  dispensing  the  clemency  of  the  Divine  government, 
nothing  is  overlooked  that  Infinite  Wisdom  perceives  to 
be  important.  Every  consideration,  bearing  however  re- 
motely upon  the  contemplated  adion  of  the  Sovereign  of 
the  Universe,  is  given  all  the  weight  to  which  it  is  entitled. 
Every  contingency  is  fully  provided  for,  and  all  apparent 
antagonisms  fully  harmonized.  In  making  salvation  pos- 
sible, God  has  done  just  enough — nothing  more.  God 
has  never  performed,  since  the  universe  began,  a  single 
unnecessary  aft.  This  his  Infinite  Wisdom  clearly  neces- 
sitates. As,  therefore,  God,  in  providing  salvation,  has 
done  just  enough — no  more,  no  less — so,  in  granting  sal- 
vation, he  will  demand  from  the  sinner,  in  the  way  of  con- 
dition, just  so  much  as,  and  no  more  than,  the  eternal  fit- 
ness of  things  requires.  God  proposes  to  meet  and  forgive 
the  sinner  at  the  right  point.  The  only  reason  he  inter- 
poses a  condition  at  all,  is  that  Infinite  Wisdom  declares 
conditions  necess'ary.  The  conditions  must,  therefore,  be 
just  so  many  as  this  wisdom  demands.  If  the  sinner  can, 
by  making  a  single  step,  put  himself  into  a  position  where 
it  will  be  proper  for  God  to  meet  him  and  forgive  him, 
then  he  will  be  required  to  make  only  that  step.  If  more 
than  one  step  is  required,  it  is  because  Divine  Wisdom 
perceives  that  more  than  one  step  is  necessary.    I  there- 


G.  W.  LONGAN. 


fore  reiterate  the  position,  God  in  the  Gospel  proposes 
to  meet  the  sinner  in  precisely  the  right  place.  There  is 
no  reason  why  there  is  a  single  unsaved  sinner  on  earth 
to-day,  other  than  this  one,  viz.:  that  all  sinners  do  not 
stand  in  such  an  attitude  to  God's  law  and  government  as 
to  make  their  salvation  possible  according  to  the  perfed 
wisdom  in  which  that  government  is  administered.  What 
else  can  be  in  the  way  of  salvation?  What  else  can  ob- 
struft  the  free  course  of  the  love  of  God.  If  it  were 
simply  a  question  of  philanthropy,  God  would  save  every 
body.  If  it  were  a  question  of  physical  power,  he  would 
save  every  body.  Just  at  this  point  the  Calvinist  and 
the  Universalist  are  alike  crazy.  The  one  will  have  it, 
because  God  is  sovereign,  and  some  are  lost,  that,  there- 
fore, from  all  eternity,  God  willed  and  determined  them 
to  endless  perdition;  while  the  other,  with  a  well-affe6ted 
pathos,  persistently  declares  that  God  is  good,  and  all, 
in  the  end,  must  be  saved.  There  is  more  involved  in 
this  matter  than  either  of  them  has  ever  dreamed.  Infi- 
nite Wisdom  made  man  a  free  agent,  and  Infinite  Wis- 
dom will  not  ignore  that  agency  in  saving  him.  God  wills 
the  salvation  of  men,  but  not  upon  principles  that  might 
loosen  the  foundations  of  the  eternal  throne.  God  wills 
to  save  the  sinner,  but  the  sinner  must  put  himself  in  a 
position  where  God  can  bestow  the  boon  in  harmony  with 
unchanging  and  eternal  laws.  One  such  law  violated,  and 
the  universe  would  never  recover  from  the  shock.  The 
reign  of  chaos  would  come  again. 

As  regards  the  salvation  of  men,  God  has  removed  out 
of  the  way  every  obstacle  that  he  could  remove.  Of  that 
which  was  necessary  to  be  done,  every  thing  which  de- 
pended on  his  agency  alone,  has  been  done.  Every  diffi- 
culty on  the  side  of  the  Almighty  has  been  taken  out  of 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  way.  Antagonisms  seemingly  to  man  irreconcilable, 
have  been  fully  harmonized  in  the  Great  Sacrifice,'  and  now 
all  that  remains  is  for  the  sinner  himself  to  move  in  the 
matter.  Will  he  put  himself  in  a  position  where  the  love 
of  God  and  the  blood  of  Christ  can  reach  him  ?  This  is 
now  the  great  question  on  which  hangs  the  eternal  weal  or 
woe  of  the  entire  race. 

What,  then,  must  the  sinner  do?  How  many  are  the 
steps  he  is  required  to  make.''  What  are  those  steps?  I 
answer:  He  must  believe  in  Jesus  Christ;  this  is  the  first 
step.  He  must  heartily  repent  of  all  his  sins;  this  is  the 
second  step.  He  must  be  solemnly  baptized  upon  a  con- 
fession of  his  faith  in  the  Son  of  God;  this  is  the  third 
and  last  step  required  in  the  Divine  arrangement.  Now, 
I  affirm  that  the  hand-writing  of  the  Almighty  is  as  clearly 
legible  here,  as  in  any  one  of  the  tens  of  thousands  of  adap- 
tations in  the  physical  universe.  I  do  not  now  argue  the 
New  Testament  authority  for  the  successive  steps  here  laid 
down.  For  the  present,  this  is  assumed.  I  only  assert  that 
the  offer  of  pardon,  on  these  conditions,  may  be  vindicated 
by  an  appeal  to  reason.  I  declare  it  as  my  conviftion,  that 
traces  of  the  wisdom  of  Jehovah  may  be  as  clearly  discov- 
ered here  as  anywhere  in  the  universe.    Let  us  see. 

The  sinner  can  do  nothing  to  change  the  past.  This  is 
clearly  impossible.  The  conditions  of  the  Gospel  are  not 
then  intended  for  this  purpose.  The  past,  with  its  hopes 
and  its  fears,  its  joys  and  its  sorrows,  is  now  history.  The 
poor  sinner  can  not  undo  a  single  deed,  or  cancel  a  single 
sin.  No  faith,  however  genuine,  no  repentance,  however 
deep  and  sincere,  no  a6l  of  obedience,  however  plainly  com- 
manded, and  however  necessary  to  be  performed,  can  affedl 
a  single  transadlion  in  the  record  already  made.  The  things 
to  be  done  now,  can  only  affeft  one's  present  attitude  to  the 


G.  W.  LONGAN. 


197 


law  and  throne  of  God.  More  than  this  is  simply  impos- 
sible. Omnipotence  even  (with  reverence  I  speak  it)  can 
not  change  the  past.  God  can  forgive  sin,  but  can  not 
change  the  fad.  At  whatever  point,  therefore,  God  may- 
meet  and  forgive  the  sinner,  it  is  clearly  an  a6t  of  grace. 
It  does  not  matter  how  many  steps  the  sinner  may  be  re- 
quired to  make,  the  principle  is  just  the  same.  It  is  just 
as  much  grace  if  three  steps  should  be  required  as  if  there 
were  but  one.  This  is  too  clear  to  require  further  argu- 
ment. All  that  the  sinner  can  do,  is  to  put  himself  in  the 
proper  attitude.  The  conditions  of  the  Gospel  aqcomplish 
this  much,  and  nothing  more.  This  is  all  that  is  possible 
to  him,  and,  blessed  be  God,  no  more  is  required.  For- 
giveness is  a  merciful  boon,  an  unbought  gratuity;  and  yet 
all  men  are  not  in  a  proper  conciition  to  receive  it.  The 
very  laws  which  influence  the  being  of  Jehovah  himself, 
forbid  the  extension  of  this  boon  to  any  who  will  not  stand 
where  it  may  be  consistently  bestowed.  The  point  where 
God  proposes  to  meet  the  sinner,  is,  therefore,  the  point 
indicated  by  his  wisdom  as  the  proper  one.  In  the  face 
of  all  the  religious- and  irreligious  skepticism  of  the  day,  I 
declare  it  as  my  firm  conviction,  that  right  reason  harmo- 
nizes with  the  Word  of  the  Lord  in  locating  the  forgiveness 
of  sins  immediately  after  the  third  step  in  the  pathway  of 
obedience.  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel.  I  maintain 
that  its  conditions  are  wise  and  just,  and  shall  stand  by 
and  defend  them  as  such  till  the  Lord  comes. 

I  lay  it  down  as  self-evident,  that  while  the  sinner  con- 
tinues to  love  and  pradice  sin,  his  forgiveness  is  simply  an 
impossibility.  Every  attribute  of  the  Divine  nature  for- 
bids it.  He  must  lay  down  the  weapons  of  his  warfare 
against  God.  He  must  cease  to  rebel  against  the  Divine 
government.    He  must  give  up  his  unholy  opposition  to 


198 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  Jehovah,  whose  right  it  is  to  rule.  This  necessity  is  as 
stern  and  unbending  as  the  laws  which  influence  the  being 
of  the  Almighty  Ruler  himself.  It  springs  up  necessarily 
out  of  the  very  relations  that  men  sustain  to  God  as  Law- 
giver of  the  Universe.  Deny  this  necessity,  and  you  de- 
stroy the  Divine  government  and  overthrow  its  very  foun- 
dations. It  is  impossible,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  for 
God  to  forgive  an  impenitent  sinner.  Every  stone  in  the 
universe  would  cry  out  against  it.  It  would  excite  the 
astonishment  of  the  demons  in  the  infernal  regions,  and 
fill  all  heaven  with  amazement  and  alarm.  It  does  not 
matter  about  the  Divine  philanthropy.  It  amounts  to 
nothing  that  God  is  love.  It  is  of  no  avail  that  Christ 
has  died.  Impenitence  is  an  impassable  barrier  between 
the  sinner  and  his  God.  Infinite  love  can  not  surmount 
such  an  obstacle  as  this.  Infinite  power,  diredled  by  In- 
finite Wisdom,  can  not  remove  it  when  the  Gospel  fails. 
Away  with  all  idle  cant  about  the  sovereignty  of  grace! 
Let  us  have  no  dreamy  and  delusive  sentimentalism  con- 
cerning Infinite  Love.  The  universe  contains  no  remedy 
for  a  sinner  that  will  not  repent.  It  is  time  that  this  were 
fully  understood.  It  will  be  too  late  when  the  thunders 
of  the  last  day  shall  burst  upon  the  world.  Thousands 
of  -souls,  drugged  and  crazed  with  Calvinian  nostrums, 
have  gone  into  eternity  waiting  for  the  Lord's  good  time. 
Thousands  noware  living  under  thedelusion  that  Almighty 
Love  will  restore  all  things  in  the  end.  I  forewarn  you  to- 
day that  God  proposes  no  remedy  for  impenitence.  He 
appeals  to  you  in  the  Gospel,  and  if  you  will  not  hear  that 
appeal,  there  is  no  hope  for  you.  He  made  you  free,  and 
will  not  violate  that  freedom,  even  to  save  you.  Can  you 
not  see,  sinner,  that  you  must  move  in  this  matter,  or  go 
down  to  perdition.?    God  can  not  come  to  you  where  you 


G.  W.  LONGAN. 


199 


are.  He  spreads  wide  the  arms  of  his  love,  and  entreats 
you  to  come  to  him.  Sinner,  will  you  come?  The  bar- 
rier is  on  your  side,  and  you  alone  can  remove  it.  God 
has  made  you  free,  and  you  must  use  that  freedom,  or 
perish  forever.  So  decides  the  Book  of  God,  and  right 
reason  vindicates  the  decision.  The  command  to  repent 
is  not  an  arbitrary  command;  it  is  not  a  tyrannical  edidt; 
it  is  not  an  exhibition  of  authority  simply  as  such,  but  au- 
thority rightful  and  unquestioned,  grounding  its  exercise, 
however,  upon  necessity  and  the  eternal  fitness  of  things. 
This  necessity,  this  fitness  of  things,  is  the  reason  which 
underlies  the  command.  The  existence  of  this  necessity 
is  the  vindication  of  the  Great  Lawgiver  in  making  the 
requirement,  and  suspending  upon  our  compliance  with  it 
the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  hope  of  eternal  life.  It 
were  as  easy  to  deny  any  other  self-evident  truth  in  the 
universe  as  the  existence  of  the  necessity  here  contended 
for.  God  makes  his  appeal  direct  to  the  honest  intuitions 
of  the  soul,  and  the  response  is  instant  and  universal.  The 
position  is,  therefore,  immovably  established.  It  is  as  cer- 
tain as  any  other  proposition  in  the  wide  range  of  human 
thought,  that  God  requires  the  sinner  to  repent,  simply 
because  that,  in  the  nature  of  things,  and  from  the  very 
relations  subsisting  between  the  parties,  the  sinner's  for- 
giveness is  impossible  without  it.  So  let  it^be  understood 
and  acknowledged  till  the  Lord  comes. 

But  why  is  the  sinner  commanded  to  believe.''  Infidels 
sometimes  put  on  a  wise  face,  and  stand  up  and  reason 
against  God.  Faith,  say  these  wiseacr_es,  is  involuntary. 
A  man  can  not  help  his  beliefs,  and  therefore  it  is  wrong 
that  he  should  be  held  responsible  for  them.  This  is  a 
false  and  dangerous  philosophy.  A  man  can  help  his  be- 
lief   A  man  can  help  believing  a  falsehood  when  the  truth 


200 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


is  within  his  reach,  provided  he  will  honestly  search  for  the 
truth.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  an  honest  infidel  on  earth 
to-day  that  has  patiently  and  prayerfully  sought  to  know 
the  truth.  A  man's  beliefs  are  not  wholly  involuntary. 
Away  with  such  reasoning  against  God;  there  is  not  a  word 
of  truth  in  it.  Again:  it  has  been  said  that  there  is  no 
moral  value  in  faith,  and  that  to  justify  or  condemn  on  the 
ground  of  believing  or  disbelieving,  is,  therefore,  clearly 
preposterous.  I  grant,  freely  grant,  that  faith  is  not  in 
itself  righteousness;  that  it  is  no  moral  equivalent  for 
obedience  to  a  righteous  law.  But  this  is  not  the  reason 
that  God  requires  men  to  believe.  Such  is  not  the  philoso- 
phy that  underlies  this  part  of  the  law  of  forgiveness.  The 
reason  Is  here:  the  sinner  can  not  be  pardoned  in  impeni- 
tence, and  he  can  not  repent  without  faith.  Faith  is  neces- 
sary as  a  means  to  an  end.  Repentance,  in  this  case,  is  the 
end,  and  you  can  not  reach  it  otherwise  than  through  faith. 
"First  faft,  then  faith,  then  feeling."  The  truth  must  be 
heard,  understood,  believed,  pass  through  the  understand- 
ing into  the  heart,  and  thus  become  the  power  of  God  to 
stir  the  depths  of  the  moral  nature.  To  me,  at  least,  it 
is  self-evident  that  God  works  every-where  by  established 
laws,  and  upon  every  thing  according  to  its  nature.  Mat- 
ter and  mind  are  subje6l  to  different  laws,  and  God  does 
not  ignore  this  faft  in  operating  upon  them.  He  influences 
mind,  according  to  the  laws  of  mind.  He  works  upon 
matter  in  harmony  with  its  nature.  The  wisdom  of  God 
in  the  Gospel  is  seen  in  this,  that  every  thing  is  adapted 
to  man  just  as  he  is;  to  his  condition,  his  relations,  his 
organization,  to  every  thing  that  touches  at  any  point  the 
grand  scheme  of  mercy  to  the  world.  If  it  were  God's 
plan  to  change  the  heart,  to  renovate  the  affections  by  a 
dired  touch  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  then  it  could  be  done  as 


G.  W.  LONGAN. 


20 1 


well  without  faith  as  with  it,  as  well  without  the  Gospel 
and  where  the  Gospel  has  never  been,  as  where  it  is  preached 
and  understood.  But  the  plan  of  the  Heavenly  Father  is 
to  take  man  as  he  is,  to  influence  him  and  save  him,  if  he 
saves  him  at  all,  in  perfeft  harmony  with  all  the  laws  of 
his  being.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  he  addresses  his  un- 
derstanding in  the  Gospel;  he  appeals  to  his  heart  by  all 
the  motives  and  influences  contained  in  the  Gospel.  This 
is  grounded  upon  a  necessity  growing  out  of  the  very  laws 
of  thought  and  feeling.  I  repeat,  I  assume  it  as  true  that 
God  operates  throughout  the  universe  upon  every  thing 
he  has  made,  in  harmony  with  the  nature  he  has  given  to 
it.  If  this  may  not  be  taken  as  self-evident,  then  there  is 
nothing  self-evident  in  the  universe,  and  all  human  knowl- 
edge is  simply  a  stupendous  folly. 

When  Jesus  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  unstopped 
the  ears  of  the  deaf,  restored  the  paralytic,  or  raised  up  the 
dead,  it  is  as  certain  that  there  was  a  demand  for  the  im- 
mediate energies  of  the  omnipotent  and  all-creating  Spirit 
as  when  the  universe  was  made.  Nothing  less,  according 
to  the  established  laws  of  material  things,  could  meet  the 
exigencies  of  the  occasion.  But  when  a  soul  in  ruins  is 
to  be  restored,  the  work  is  not  the  same,  neither  is  the  way 
of  God  the  same.  God  does  not  work  alike  upon  matter 
and  mind.  The  power  that  he  employs  in  moving  the  soul 
would  be  folly  in  the  work  of  raising  the  dead;  while  the 
energy  that  brought  a  Lazarus  from  the  grave  would  be  as 
illy  suited  to  stir  the  heart  with  a  sense  of  guilt,  or  destroy 
in  it  the  love  of  sin.  Purblind,  indeed,  must  have  been 
the  venerated  fathers  of  denominational  orthodoxy,  never 
to  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  this  grand  truth.  Strange  that 
Doctors  of  Divinity  should  stumble  where  it  would  seem 
that  babes^might  walk  without  a  fear.    The  Gospel  is  the 


i02 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


power  of  God  to  save  the  soul.  But  in  the  Christ-idea — 
to  borrow  a  happy  expression  from  one  whose  work  of  faith 
and  labor  of  love  will  be  rewarded  at  the  res4.irre6lion  of  the 
just* — lies  the  secret  of  its  wondrous  ihight.  Jesus,  the 
Christ,  is  not  only  the  center  and  sum  of  all  Gospel  truth, 
but  the  center  and  sum  of  all  converting  and  savingpower. 
The  tale  of  Calvary  has  stirred  more  hearts  than  any  other 
tale  that  was  ever  told.  The  Hero  of  Redemption  has 
elicited  a  higher  admiration,  a  holier  love,  than  any  other 
hero  that  ever  lived.  The  compassion  of  the  dying  Jesus 
for  sinful  men  has  awakened  a  loftier  gratitude  than  ever 
throbbed  in  any  heart  at  the  mention  of  any  human  name. 
Blessed  be  God  for  the  mighty,  heaven-born  energy  con- 
centrated in  this  single,  grand  idea  of  a  suffering,  dying 
Christ.  The  soul  may  realize  it,  but  the  tongue  can  never 
tell  it.  There  is  more  power  in  this  single  conception, 
taken  in  its  manifold  relations,  to  elevate  the  race,  to  en- 
noble our  humanity,  to  make  men  better,  and  truer,  and 
purer,  than  in  the  speculations  of  all  earthly  philosophy, 
from  Confucius  to  Cousin.  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  is  itself 
the  highest  philosophy  known  on  earth  or  in  heaven.  The 
angels  in  glory  bend  in  astonishment  and  rapture  over  the 
stupendous  display  of  God's  wisdom  in  the  redemption 
of  sinners  through  the  Gospel.  In  this  whole  arrangement 
the  wisdom  of  the  Infinite  One  shines  out  as  grandly  as 
the  noonday  sun  from  a  cloudless  sky.  But  the  power  of 
a  fad:  is  felt  only  bv  those  who  accept  it  as  a  faft.  The 
history  of  all  hearts  offers  no  exception  to  this  law.  God 
influences  mind  according  to  the  laws  of  mind.  Hence  the 
Gospel  is  only  the  power  of  God  to  "the  called,"  to  "the 
saved,"  to  "  them  that  believe."    By  one  of  those  unchang- 


*  J.  J.  Trott,  missionary  to  the  Cherokees. 


G.  W.  LONGAN. 


203 


ing  laws,  therefore,  which  God  will  not  violate,  the  influence 
by  which  repentance  is  induced  is  made  to  depend  upon 
faith.  Faith  is  the  substratum  upon  which  repentance  re- 
poses. You  can  no  more  have  repentance  or  a  change  of 
heart  without  faith,  than  you  can  have  a  building  without 
a  foundation.  You  can  not  rear  a  gorgeous  temple  in  mid- 
air. You  can  not  have  a  superstructure  without  a  sub- 
strufture.  God  saves  man  according  to  the  laws  of  thought 
and  feeling.  He  does  not  propose  literally  to  create  man 
over  again  in  the  process  of  renovation.  He  comes  to  him 
as  he  is.  He  takes  hold  of  him  with  the  Gospel,  and  saves 
him,  if  he  saves  him  at  all,  without  violence  to  a  single  law 
of  his  nature.  From  this  fixed  point,  I  reason  with  the 
fullest  assurance  of  understanding.  Upon  this  foundation 
I  build  without  a  fear.  Seftarian  theology  unsettles  every 
thing,  turns  every  thing  into  chaos.  It  has  no  logical 
foundation.  It  has  no  reason  and  no  philosophy.  God's 
Gospel  is  a  golden  chain  of  cause  and  effedt.  Every  link 
in  this  chain  has  been  wisely  wrought.  Nothing  is  without 
its  reason,  nothing  without  its  end.  Looking  off  from  this 
stand-point  over  the  long  centuries  that  have  passed  away 
since  this  grand  Christ-idea  was  first  made  known  to  the 
world,  and  contemplating  what  God  has  wrought  by  it, 
who  can  refrain  from  exclaiming  with  the  apostle:  "O, 
depth  of  the  bounty,  and  wisdom,  and  knowledge  of  God  ! 
how  unfathomable  are  his  judgments,  and  how  unsearch- 
able are  his  paths !  Yea,  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the 
Lord,  and  who  hath  .been  his  counselor  or  who  hath  first 
given  to  God,  that  he  should  deserve  a  recompense?  Unto 
him  be  glory  forever.  Amen." 

But  what  more?  When  the  sinner  believes  in  Jesus, 
and  is  deeply  penitent  for  his  sins;  when  his  understand- 
mg  is  enlightened  and  his  heart  is  changed,  what  then? 


204 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Why,  then,  "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved."  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony;  how  readest 
thou?  But  why  be  baptized?  Jesus  commands;  is  not 
that  enough?  Nay,,  but  is  not  the  commandment  wise? 
And  may  not  its  wisdom  be  vindicated?  I  answer,  yes. 
My  faith  is  as  firm,  that  there  is  a  Divine  reason  lying 
beneath  this  Divine  commandment,  as  that  God  is  all-wise. 
Let  us  reverently  attempt  to  look  for  it.  It  may,  perhaps, 
lie  deeper  than  our  ken,  but  it  can  not  be  wrong  to  look. 

First,  then,  I  confess  that  if  there  were  no  universe 
beyond  God  and  the  single  offending  sinner,  whose  case 
may  be  supposed  to  be  under  consideration,  I  can  see 
no  reason  why  baptism  should  be  enjoined.  Such  a  rea- 
son might  still  exist,  but,  in  such  a  case,  would  lie  deeper 
than  our  vision.  Were  it  commanded  in  such  a  case,  the 
existence  of  the  reason  might  be  inferred  with  certainty 
from  the  Divine  Wisdom,  even  though  our  profoundest 
search  failed  to  discover  any  trace  of  it.  If,  however, 
God  and  the  single  sinner  were  the  whole  universe,  all  that 
would  be  necessary  to  put  the  sinner  within  the  reach  of 
Divine  clemency,  seems  to  be  gained,  when  the  sinner  be- 
lieves and  repents.  His  understanding  is  then  right,  and 
his  heart  is  right.  His  status  is  known  to  himself,  and 
fully  known  to  God,  and  beside  these  there  is  supposed 
to  be  none  else.  Human  reason,  it  seems  to  me,  in  such 
a  case,  fails  to  discover  a  necessity  for  any  thing  more. 
But  this  supposed  case  is  widely  different  from  the  real 
case.  The  sinner,  in  point  of  fad,  is  only  one  among 
millions  equally  guilty.  And  besides  the  guilty  millions, 
there  are  millions  of  beings  that  have  kept  their  first  estate, 
and  never  sinned.  In  forgiving  a  sinner,  God  must  take 
into  account  the  moral  influence  of  the  adl  throughout  all 
ranks  of  created  beings  under  law  to  him.    The  point  at 


G.  W.  LONGAN. 


which  he  proposes  to  forgive  the  sinner,  must  be  the  one 
that  all  right-thinking  subjefts  of  the  Divine  government 
will  recognize  at  once  as  the  proper  one.  The  angels 
around  the  throne  must  be  able  to  see  and  vindicate  the 
wisdom  and  justice  of  the  Almighty  Ruler.  But  God  only 
can  read  the  heart.  In  all  the  universe,  the  penitent  sin- 
ner's status,  until  developed  in  an  overt  a6l,  is  known  only 
to  himself  and  to  God.  But  he  has  sinned  openly.  With 
a  bold  front  he  has  measured  arms  with  Omnipotence.  His 
rebellion  has  not  been  confined  to  his  heart.  It  has  not 
exhausted  itself  in  sympathy.  Men  on  earth,  the  part 
ners  of  his  crime,  have  been  the  witnesses,  and  angels  in 
heaven  have  looked  on  with  astonishment  at  his  defiant 
airs.  Now,  what  does  the  nature  of  the  case  seem  to  de- 
mand ?  Where  does  it  appear  to  be  proper  that  God 
should  meet  this  once  bold  and  defiant,  but  now  humbled 
and  stricken,  outlav,'?  Where  should  God  require  him  to 
stand,  when  he  bestows  upon  him  the  boon  of  a  merciful 
forgiveness  of  all  his  past  sins  ?  I  answer :  Out  before 
heaven  and  earth,  confessing  his  guilt,  avowing  his  repent- 
ance, and  pledging  himself  to  unflinching  fidelity  in  all  time 
to  come.  His  faith  and  repentance  must  be  enibodied  in 
an  overt  ad;,  that  men  and  angels  can  see.  Surely  this  is 
clear  beyond  cavil.  Sinner,  in  this  issue  between  God  and 
Satan,  your  rightful  Lawgiver  demands  that  you  shall  de- 
fine your  position.  He  requires  you  to  choose  whom  you 
will  serve,  and  to  declare  your  choice  before  heaven  and 
earth.  Are  you  for  your  rightful  Sovereign,  or  do  you 
stand  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy?  God  has  established 
an  institution,  and  made  it  the  line  of  separation  between 
his  kingdom  and  that  of  the  opposing  power.  This  insti- 
tution is  Christian  baptism.  In  this  overt  a6t,  you  exter- 
nalize your  faith  and  repentance,  and  make  them  visible  to 


2o6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


your  fellow-men.  In  this  aft  you  formally  and  solemnly 
dedicate  yourself  to  God.  In  it,  you  vow  eternal  allegiance 
to  his  throne.  In  it,  all  the  holy  desires  and  heaven-born 
resolves  of  the  inner  man,  take  upon  them  an  outward 
form,  and  can  be  seen  and  read  by  your  associates.  Is  it 
strange  that  God  should  demand  such  an  expression  of 
your  faith  in  him?  such  a  pledge  of  eternal  fealty  in  time 
to  come?  Nay,  it  would  have  been  strange,  indeed,  if 
God  had  tendered  forgiveness  without  it.  It  has  its  foun- 
dation in  the  eternal  fitness  of  things.  Its  reason  is  clear 
as  a  sunbeam.  It  is  not  the  value  of  the  thing  done.  It 
is  not  that  it  has  saving  merit  in  it.  It  is  not  that  water, 
as  such,  has  power  to  cleanse  from  guilt.  Baptism  is  no 
charm.  It  has  in  it  no  mystery.  Its  sole  value  is  this: 
That  as  an  open,  public  avowal  of  your  faith  and  penitence, 
as  a  formal  and  solemn  dedication  of  yourself  to  God  in  a 
heaven-appointed  way,  it  places  you  in  a  proper  position 
before  heaven  and  earth  to  receive  the  free  and  gracious 
forgiveness  of  your  past  sins.  Sinner,  why  do  you  hesi- 
tate? Humble,  stricken,  sin-sick  believer,  "Arise  and  be 
baptized,  and  wash  away  your  sins,  calling  on  the  name 
of  the  Lord." 

Blessed  be  God  for  a  reasonable  religion !  a  religion  that 
can  be  defended  alike  against  the  sneers  of  the  bigot,  and 
the  scoffs  of  the  infidel.  To  his  name  be  the  glory  for- 
ever. Amen. 


R  ."W ,  Carroll  &  C  °  Publiaiers .  CuLcirniatl,  0 


ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


'T'HIS  distinguished  preacher  and  teacher  was  born  in  Liverpool,  Eng- 
land,  on  the  14th  of  August,  1822.  The  parents  were  rigid  Epis- 
copalians, and  the  son  was,  consequently,  brought  up  in  the  communion 
of  the  Established  Church.  When  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  during  a 
protradled  meeting  among  the  Methodist  Protestants  of  Alleghany  City, 
Penn.,  he  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  religion,  and  was 
led  to  doubt  the  correftness  of  the  position  he  occupied  in  the  Episcopal 
Church.  Although  failing  to  experience  the  miraculous  change,  which 
at  that  time  was  a  popular  evidence  of  conversion,  he  was,  nevertheless, 
received  on  probation,  and  finally  into  full  membership  in  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church.  He  was  now  conscious  of  a  great  change  in  his  views, 
feelings,  and  conduft,  but  he  was  still  unsatisfied  with  reference  to  his  re- 
ligious state.  There  were  many  passages  of  Scripture  he  could  not  har- 
monize with  the  teachings  of  the  Church  to  which  he  belonged. 

In  the  fall  of  1838  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  congregation  of 
Disciples  in  Alleghany  City,  Penn.,  and  was  thus  brought  to  review  the 
grounds  of  his  religious  belief.  This  examination  led  to  his  immersion, 
on  the  17th  of  February,  1839,  ^7  Elder  Samuel  Church,  then  pastor  of 
the  Christian  Church  in  Alleghany  City. 

At  the  time  he  united  with  the  Disciples  he  was  an  apprentice  for  five 
years,  learning  "  the  art  and  mystery  of  house-carpentry,"  in  the  city  of 
Pittsburgh,  and,  of  course,  had  very  little  time  to  devote  to  literary  pursuits. 
Nevertheless,  he  collefted  quite  a  library  of  useful  and  entertaining  books, 
and  devoted  all  his  spare  hours  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge;  and  having 
joined  a  literary  society,  made  considerable  progress  in  the  study  of  history, 
Belles-Lettres,  Biblical  Criticism,  Natural  Science,  etc. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1843,  he  entered  Bethany  College,  and,  in  the 
foil  owing  year,  began  to  preach  for  the  church  at  Dutch-Fork,  seven  miles 
from  Bethany,  and  continued  to  labor  there  on  Lord's  days  for  three  years. 
By  the  sale  of  his  library,  carpenters'  tools,  the  small  salary  received  for 
preaching,  and  occasional  help  from  President  Campbell,  he  was  enabled 

(207) 


2o8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


to  support  himself  at  college.  He  subsequently  returned  all  the  means 
Mr.  Campbell  advanced,  with  interest  on  the  same  from  date.  While  a 
student  at  Bethany,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Maria  Thornley,  of  Alle- 
ghany City,  Penn. 

He  graduated  in  July,  1847,  dividing  the  first  honors  of  his  class  with 
A.  R.  Benton,  and  delivering  the  Latin  salutatory.  In  December  of  the 
same  year  he  entered  upon  a  collefting  tour  for  Mr.  Campbell,  and  spent 
nine  months  in  traveling  through  several  of  the  South-western  States.  It 
was  during  this  tour  that  he  co-operated  with  John  T.  Johnson,  in  a  pro- 
trafted  meeting  of  great  interest,  at  Fayetteville,  Arkansas,  which  resulted 
in  the  establishment  of  a  fine  church  in  that  place,  to  the  pastoral  care  of 
which  he  was  soon  afterward  called.  He  removed  to  Fayetteville  with 
his  family  in  January,  1849.  Here  he  finally  succeeded  in  establishing 
Arkansas  College,  an  institution  which  flourished  till  the  war  broke  out, 
in  1 86 1. 

In  September,  1859,  he  left  Arkansas  for  Harrodsburg,  Kentucky,  to 
take  charge  of  the  Chair  of  Belles-Lettres  and  History  in  Kentucky  Uni- 
versity, to  which  he  had  been  unanimously  elefted.  He  held  this  position 
one  year,  during  which  time  he  gave  great  satisfaftion  to  the  friends  of  the 
University.  He  was  induced  to  resign  his  professorship  in  1 860,  and  return 
to  Fayetteville,  with  the  view  of  becoming  the  General  Agent  of  the  Southern 
Christian  Missionary  Society.  But  the  war  breaking  out,  the  whole  arrange- 
ment failed,  and,  in  the  fall  of  1862,  he  took  charge  of  the  First  Church  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  labored  with  great  acceptance  till  1864,  when 
he  resigned  and  removed  to  Santa  Rosa,  California,  and  preached  for  the 
church,  and  taught  an  academy  at  that  place,  one  year.  He  then  spent  one 
year  in  San  Francisco,  and  succeeded  in  establishing  a  promising  church  in 
that  city.  In  January,  1 866,  he  was  elefted  Presiding  Officer  of  the  Col- 
lege of  Arts,  and  Professor  of  the  School  of  English  Language  and  Litera- 
ture, in  Kentucky  University.  He  accepted,  and  entered  upon  his  work 
in  the  following  Oftober,  which  position  he  now  occupies. 

Robert  Graham  has  a  finely-balanced  organization — there  being  perfeP: 
harmony  between  the  intelleftual  and  physical  natures.  He  is  of  low  stature, 
but  heavy-set,  and  weighs  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  He  has 
a  bright,  florid  complexion,  large,  light-blue  eyes,  and  an  orator's  mouth. 
He  is  a  ready  extemporaneous  speaker,  and,  on  a  great  occasion,  is  capable 
of  exercising  wonderful  power  over  an  audience.  He  possesses  a  strong, 
adlive,  sympathetic  nature,  and  this  gives  him  great  influence  in  the  social 
circle.  Few  men  have  more  ability  to  control  the  masses,  but  this  is  never 
attempted  at  a  sacrifice  of  dignity,  or  any  charafteristic  of  a  Christian 
gentleman. 


REGENERATION. 


BY  ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


"Of  his  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should 
be  a  kind  of  first-fruits  of  his  creatures." — ^James  i  :  i8. 

IT  may  be  truly  said  that  one-half  of  all  the  debates 
about  the  Gospel  arise  from  a  misconception  of  the 
nature  of  Regeneration.  We  are  glad  to  think  that  many 
persons  are  regenerated  who  can  not  give  a  consistent  and 
Scriptural  view  of  this  subjeft,  even  as  many  are  refreshed 
by  the  cooling  spring  who  know  not  the  composition  of 
water,  and  are  regaled  by  the  breeze  of  heaven  who  can 
not  tell  whether  the  atmosphere  is  a  chemical  or  a  mechan- 
ical combination.  But  this  by  no  means  implies  that  we 
ought  to  be  satisfied  with  crude  views  upon  a  matter,  the 
importance  and  interest  of  which  are  confessed  by  all;  for 
while  we  may  not  be  regenerated  by  merely  understanding 
the  nature  of  the  process,  it  is  equally  clear  that  through 
this  knowledge  we  may  be  saved  from  many  pernicious 
errors,  and  become  the  recipients  of  greatly  increased  re- 
ligious enjoyment. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  Regeneration  is  one  of  "  the 
things  hard  to  be  understood;"  and,  indeed,  this  is  true, 
if  we  thread  the  labyrinth  by  the  rush-light  of  modern 
theology.     Following  a  light  so  pale  and  inconstant, 
14  ( 209) 


210 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


"spectres  and  chimeras  dire"  will  start  up  on  every  hand, 
pit-falls  will  dimly  reveal  themselves  at  every  step,  and 
we  shall  be  in  constant  danger;  but  once  take  the  bright 
and  sure  light  of  God's  Word,  follow  the  guidance  of 
Christ  and  his  inspired  apostles,  and  what  was  dark  is  at 
once  illuminated,  the  difficulties  are  bridged,  and  we  find 
ourselves  in  a  hall  built  as  by  enchantment,  filled  indeed 
with  wonders,  but  wonders  revealed,  not  less  to  warm  our 
hearts  than  to  quicken  our  understandings.  To  speak 
without  a  figure,  we  affirm  our  convidion  that  with  the 
New  Testament  in  our  hands,  and  free  from  the  subtle- 
ties of  scholastic  divinity.  Regeneration,  in  its  source,  in- 
strumentality, and  purpose,  can  be  understood  as  clearly 
as  any  other  fundamental  item  of  the  Christian  revelation. 

As  it  has  pleased  God  to*  reveal  all  for  duty  and  noth- 
ing for  mere  curiosity,  it  is  our  interest  and  our  happi- 
ness to  obtain  well-defined  conceptions  of  the  divine  pro- 
cess by  which  we  are  quickened  to  a  new  life,  for  herein 
has  our  Father  displayed  his  kindness  to  us  "who  were 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  His  parental  love, shown 
in  the  efficient  means  and  final  cause  of  our  regeneration 
may  well  be  to  us,  as  it  was  to  primitive  saints  and  mar- 
tyrs, the  theme  of  perpetual  meditation,  gratitude,  and 
praise.  What  is  there  so  well  calculated  to  elevate  our 
minds  as  the  contemplation  of  the  simplicity  and  benevo- 
lence of  the  Gospel,  which  reveals  God's  plan  of  saving 
sinners  by  faith,  and  causing  their  lives  to  abound  with 
the  fruits  of  righteousness  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious 
grace  ! 

As  this  discourse  is  for  those  mainly  who  depend  not 
on  Greek,  but  on  English,  for  their  knowledge  of  the  liv- 
ing oracles,  I  shall  not  speak  in  a  dead  language  to  a 
living  people.     Moreover,  I  may  say,  once  for  all,  that, 


ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


Ill 


in  my  opinion,  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  a  clear 
understanding  of  this  subjed  that  we  should  draw  nice 
distinctions  respedling  the  Greek  words  rendered  in  the 
common  version  sometimes  begotten  and  sometimes  born. 
We  do  not  think  the  apostles,  in  their  use  of  the  words, 
made  any  refined  physiological  discriminations  between 
generation  and  birth.  With  them,  our  new  life  in  Christ 
begins  when  we  enter  his  kingdom,  and  we  enter  his  king- 
dom by  a  birth  of  water  and  Spirit — a  process  including 
the  inception,  progress,  and  consummation  of  a  change  in 
both  charadter  and  state,  without  which,  the  Savior  says, 
no  one  can  see  the  kingdom  of  God. 

We  shall  then  use  the  words  begotten^  regeneration,  and 
born  again — as  we  apprehend  the  New  Testament  uses 
them — to  denote  a  process,  and  not  an  aEt,  without  stop- 
ping to  inquire,  in  the  case  of  each  passage  adduced,  the 
particular  stage  of  the  process  which  may  be  uppermost 
in  the  mind  of  tne  sacred  penman.  I  feel  satisfied,  from 
a  careful  examination,  that  the  New  Testament  writers 
used  the  Greek  words  in  their  literal  sense  for  both  be- 
gotten and  being  born;  and  we  are  confident  that,  in  their 
metaphorical  sense,  they  may  be  similarly  used  without 
danger  of  ambiguity.  The  reason  for  this  opinion  will 
appear  as  we  proceed. 

My  method  of  discussion  shall  be  dire6t  and  simple, 
suited  to  the  humblest  capacity,  and  as  best  serving  the 
end  in  view.    I  shall  endeavor  to  show: 
I.  The  Nature  of  Regeneration. 
II.  Its  Absolute  Necessity. 

III.  Its  Blessed  Consequences. 

And  may  he  who  never  withholds  his  presence  and 
blessing  from  those  who  humbly  seek  him,  aid  us  by  his 
Spirit,  that  we  may  understand  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus! 


212 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


I.  The  Nature  of  Regeneration. 

In  elucidating  this  part  of  our  theme  the  text  suggests 
a  method  at  once  clear  and  natural: 

1.  The  Source  of  our  regeneration — "  Of  his  own  will." 

2.  The  Agent — "He,"  that  is  God,  "begat  us." 

3.  The  Means— "By  the  Word  of  Truth." 

4.  The  End — "  That  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first-fruits 
.of  his  creatures." 

This  passage  sets  before  us  four  items  in  our  Regenera- 
tion; as  these  are  fundamental,  mistake  is  dangerous;  as 
it  is  clearly  done,  misapprehension  is  perversity.  Indif- 
ferent to  the  beautiful  in  statement  must  be  the  mind  that 
does  not  see  in  this  verse  a  perspicuity  worthy  a  divinely- 
inspired  teacher.  Is  the  first  item  clear?  the  second  is  no 
less  evident.  Is  the  third  worthy  of  God's  wisdom?  the 
fourth  is  not  less  so  of  his  benevolence. 

I  St.  T'ke  source  of  Regeneration  is  the  will  of  God.  It  is 
alone  of  God's  free  and  spontaneous  volition,  adling  with- 
out necessity  and  without  constraint,  that  men  are  be- 
gotten to  a  new  life:  it  is  of  "his  own  good  pleasure." 
Neither  is  it  because  of  any  worthiness  in  us,  as  is  set 
forth  in  Titus  iii :  5  :  "  Not  by  works  of  righteousness 
which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his  mercy,  he  saved 
us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the 
Holy  Spirit."  To  keep  our  minds  steadily  fixed  on  this 
essential  point,  and  to  introduce — 

2d.  The  Agent  of  our  Regeneration,  we  quote  a  most  ex- 
pressive passage  from  John  i:  11— 13:  "  He  came  to  his 
own,  and  his  own  received  him  not.  But  as  many  as  re- 
ceived him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons 
of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name :  which 
were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor 


ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


213 


of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God."  The  meaning  and 
application  of  this  passage  are  plain.  Our  Lord  came  to 
his  own  people — the  Jews — and,  with  few  exceptions,  they 
rejefted  him  :  but,  to  the  few  that  received  him,  who  be- 
lieved on  his  name,  he  gave  the  privilege  of  becoming 
children  of  God.  The  apostle,  keeping  up  the  figure 
suggested  by  the  word  children,  observes  that  those  who 
received  him  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of 
the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God. 

We  become  children  by  virtue  of  birth.  By  a  birth  of 
flesh,  we  wear  the  image  of  Adam  ;  by  a  birth  of  Spirit, 
we  wear  the  image  of  Christ.  Our  flesh  is  born  of  flesh; 
our  spirit  is  born  of  spirit.  So  Christ  teaches.  "That 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh;  and  that  which  is  born 
of  the  Spirit,  is  spirit."  (John  iii:  6.)  Being,  then,  be- 
gotten by  God,  and  born  into  his  kingdom  of  grace,  we 
are  his  children,  and  Christ  is  our  elder  brother.  We  are 
to  each  other  brethren,  not  in  Moses,  nor  in  Plato,  but  in 
Christ.  This  being  taught  in  very  many  passages  of  God's 
Word,  and  being  generally  conceded,  we  may  pass  on  to 
consider  the  next  item. 

3d.  The  means  employed  in  our  Regeneration.  As  this  is  the 
point  about  which  there  is  most  disagreement,  I  will  be 
indulged,  I  hope,  if  I  labor  it  at  greater  length  than  would 
otherwise  comport  with  the  unity  of  this  discourse. 

"He  begat  us  with  the  word  of  truth."  This  settles 
it  that  the  word  of  truth  is  a  means.  Are  we  prepared  to 
go  one  step  farther,  and  say  it  is  the  means  ?  We  feel  so 
constrained.  There  may  be  ten  thousand  secondary  causes 
employed  to  bring  men  to  the  knowledge  of  the  word  of 
truth,  for  we  and  the  powers  of  heaven  and  earth  may  be 
employed  in  carrying  the  Gospel  to  those  sitting  in  dark- 
ness, and  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death,  just  as  the 


214 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


air  and  its  happy  denizens  bear  the  seeds  and  pollen 
of  fruits  and  flowers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  While  the 
will  of  God  continues  to  be  the  source  of  our  new  life, 
and  he  himself  the  efficient  cause  of  it,  as  long  as  he  is 
our  Father,  so  long  will  his  word  be  "the  seed  of  the 
kingdom;"  and  not  till  plants  can  be  produced  without 
seed,  and  animals  without  parents,  will  sinful  men  be  made 
partakers  of  the  Divine  nature — the  new  life  in  God — 
without  "the  word  of  truth,  the  Gospel  of  our  salvation." 

But  it  seems  to  me  that  the  nature  of  the  case  excludes 
every  other  instrumentality.  Does  God  beget  some  chil- 
dren by  the  word  of  truth,  and  others  by  different  means? 
It  behooves  those  who  so  affirm  to  show  it  by  express 
Scripture  statement  or  necessary  implication.  This,  we 
are  confident,  never  can  be  done.  But  the  idea  that  God 
nas  a  way  of  regenerating  men  by  his  word  ordinarily, 
and  by  something  else  extraordinarily,  is  not  less  repug- 
nant to  the  analogy  of  nature  than  contradictory  to  the 
analogy  of  faith.  Corred:  views  here  are  removed  equally 
from  the  extravagance  of  the  fanatic,  the  obscurity  of  the 
mystic,  and  the  cold  philosophy  of  the  rationalist. 

The  common  view  of  Regeneration  is  that  it  is  an  ad 
performed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  before  faith,  and  in  order 
to  faith;  and  that  by  it  the  heart  of  the  sinner  is  instantly 
changed  from  the  love  of  sin  to  the  love  of  holiness. 
There  is  great  variety  of  statement,  from  the  wildest  rant 
to  the  most  carefully-worded  proposition,  but  in  meaning 
they  are  all  the  same.  In  opposition  to  this,  we  maintain 
that  "the  seed  is  the  word  of  God,"  that  this  is  his  chosen 
instrumentality,  and  that  when  that  word  is  received  by 
faith  into  a  good  and  honest  heart,  that  heart  is  quick- 
ened into  new  life.  That  the  Spirit  of  God  is  always  with 
his  word,  and  that  if  men  are  not  regenerated  the  fault  is 


ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


215 


to  be  found  in  themselves  or  the  unfavorable  circum- 
stances of  their  condition,  and  not  in  the  will  of  God,  nor 
the  want  of  power  in  his  word. 

To  see  what  is  the  teaching  of  Scripture  on  a  matter  so 
vital  and  interesting,  I  quote  from  Peter's  first  epistle  (i : 
22,  23) :  "Seeing  ye  have  purified  your  souls  in  obeying 
the  truth  through  the  Spirit  unto  unfeigned  love  of  the 
brethren,  see  that  ye  love  one  another  with  a  pure  heart 
fervently.  Being  born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but 
of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God,  which  liveth  and 
abideth  forever."  Can  language  be  plainer  than  this  ?  We 
are  regenerated,  not  of  corruptible  seed  ;  our  bodies  are 
generated  of  that,  as  we  are  informed  by  John,  but  our 
spirits  are  regenerated  of  this  incorruptible  seed  of  the  liv- 
ing God.  As  he  only  hath  life  in  himself,  he  communi- 
cates it  to  us  through  his  word  of  truth.  What  James 
calls  "  the  word  of  truth,"  Peter  calls  "  the  word  of 
God,"  as  the  Savior  teaches  in  his  sacerdotal  prayer,  (John 
xvii:  17):  "Sandify  them  through  thy  truth,  thy  word  is 
truth." 

The  Savior,  John,  James,  and  Peter  do,  in  these  pas- 
sages, teach  a  simple,  but  most  important  truth  about  Re- 
generation. We  have  only  to  remove  from  our  eyes  the 
films  of  prejudice  and  mysticism  to  see  the  admirable 
agreement  of  all  these  teachers,  and  the  simplicity  of  their 
instrudlion. 

But  you  are  ready  to  ask  me.  What  is  this  word  of  God, 
which  Peter,  in  this  connection,  calls  the  incorruptible 
seed  of  the  kingdom  ?  Read  the  concluding  verses  of  this 
chapter:  "And  this  is  the  word  which  by  the  Gospel  is 
preached  unto  you."  The  germ,  then,  is  the  word  of  God 
in  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  That  word  was  given  in  charge 
to  this  man  and  his  fellow-apostles,  in  the  great  commis- 


2l6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


sion  to  disciple  the  nations:  "Go  ye,"  says  Christ,  "into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved."  Compare, 
now,  with  this  Paul's  language  in  i  Cor.  iv :  15:  "Though 
ve  have  ten  thousand  instructors  in  Christ,  yet  have  ye 
not  many  fathers,  for  in  Christ  Jesus  I  have  begotten 
you  through  the  Gospel."  That  is,  I,  Paul,  preached  the 
Gospel  to  you  Corinthians,  by  hearing  and  believing  this 
Gospel,  in  which  is  the  incorruptible  seed,  you  have  been 
begotten,  and  therefore  I  am,  under  God,  your  spiritual 
father. 

That  such  is  the  meaning  of  the  apostle  is  more  than 
conjedlure.  What  did  he  do  when  he  first  preached  at 
Corinth?  In  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  Ads,  we  have  the 
report  of  his  labors  in  this  celebrated  city,  and  it  is  sin- 
gularly explicit:  "After  these  things,  Paul  departed  from 
Athens,  and  came  to  Corinth,"  the  account  goes  on  to 
say:  "And  he  reasoned  in  the  synagogue  every  Sabbath, 
and  persuaded  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks.  And  when  Silas 
and  Timotheus  were  come  from  Macedonia,  Paul  was 
pressed  in  the  spirit,  and  testified  to  the  Jews  that  Jesus 
was  Christ."  The  result  of  all  this  is  given  thus:  "And 
Crispus,  the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  believed  on  the 
Lord  with  all  his  house  ;  and  many  of  the  Corinthians 
hearing,  believed,  and  were  baptized."  Such  is  the  sim- 
ple and  unfigurative  account  of  Paul's  evangelical  labors 
in  Corinth.  He  preached  the  Gospel,  testifying  that  Je- 
sus is  the  Christ ;  the  Corinthians,  hearing,  believe  the  tes- 
timony, and  are  immersed.  Were  not  these  persons  born 
again  ?  If  so,  how?  It  certainly  was  according  to  the  will 
of  God;  and  is  it  not  just  as  certain  that  it  was  through 
the  word  of  truth?  That  word  was,  beyond  all  cavil,  the 
seed  of  the  kingdom — the  germ  of  their  new  spiritual 


ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


217 


life.  The  faft  is,  language  can  not  make  any  thing  plainer 
than  does  this  passage  the  following  propositions: 

1.  The  Corinthians  heard  Paul  prove  Jesus  to  be  the 
Christ. 

2.  They  believed  his  word. 

3.  They  were  baptized.  Consequently  they  were  born 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit. 

The  reference  made  by  the  apostle  himself  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  15th  chapter  of  his  First  Epistle  to  these 
same  Corinthians,  confirms  us  in  this  view,  if  farther  con- 
firmation is  necessary.  He  says:  "Moreover,  brethren,  I 
declare  unto  you  the  Gospel  which  I  preached  unto  you, 
which  also  ye  have  received,  and  wherein  ye  stand;  by 
which  also  ye  are  saved,  if  you  keep  in  memory  what  I 
preached  unto  you,  unless  ye  have  believed  in  vain.  For 
I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all,  that  which  I  also  received, 
how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures: and  that  he  was  buried,  and  that  he  rose  again  the 
third  day  according  to  the  Scriptures." 

Comparing  this  passage  with  the  one  quoted  from  the 
1 5th  verse  of  the  4th  chapter,  and  both  of  them  with  Luke's 
account  in  the  i8th  chapter  of  Acts,  we  can  not  see  how  any 
unprejudiced  mind  can  avoid  the  conclusion  that  to  be 
born  again  is  to  hear,  believe,  and  obey  the  Gospel;  that 
the  Gospel  is  the  good  news  concerning  the  death,  burial, 
and  resurredlion  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  that  these  prove  him 
to  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God;  that  this  is  the  great 
central  truth — the  germ  of  spiritual  life — which  received 
into  a  good  and  honest  heart,  by  faith,  becomes  the  incor- 
ruptible seed  of  which  we  are  begotten  of  God;  and  that 
when  we  are  baptized  into  Christ  according  to  the  Gospel, 
and  come  forth  out  of  the  water,  we  are  born  of  water  and 
the  Spirit.     I  confess  that  if  this,  be  not  to  be  born  again, 


2l8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


then  is  the  whole  thing  a  myth,  and  Christ's  teaching  to 
Nicodemus  incomprehensible. 

How  natural  it  is  that  Paul  should  say,  (Philemon,  loth 
verse,)  that  he  had  begotten  Onesimus  in  his  bonds;  and 
we  can  be  at  no  loss  to  understand  his  meaning.  Again, 
John  affirms,  (i  John  v:  i:)  "Whosoever  believeth  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born  [begotten]  of  God;  and  every 
one  that  loveth  him  that  begat,  loveth  him  also  that  is  be- 
gotten of  him."  How  sweetly  does  the  language  of  these 
texts  fall  in  with  the  idea  that  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus 
is  the  Gospel  in  epitome,  and  that  this  was  the  instrumen- 
tality used  by  the  first  preachers  to  bring  men  into  the 
family  of  God ! 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  crowning  proof  of  his 
Messiahship,  and  therefore  Peter  well  says,  (i  Pet.  1:3:) 
"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who,  according  to  his  abundant  mercy,  hath  begotten  us 
again  to  a  hope  of  life  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead."  If,  then.  Regeneration  be  not  what  I  have 
proved  it  to  be  by  this  simple,  and,  as  I  think,  unanswer- 
able argument,  I  shall  despair  of  ever  understanding  the 
meaning  of  language,  and  shall  boldly  affirm  that  to  make 
a  revelation  of  the  will  of  God  in  the  symbols  of  human 
speech  is  plainly  impossible. 

4.  T^he  end  proposed  in  our  Regeneration  is  that  we  should 
be  akind  of  first  fruits  of  his  creatures."  InDeut.xxvi:  2—10, 
we  have  the  law  regulating  the  affefting  ceremony  of  pre- 
senting the  first  fruits  before  God;  and  from  it  we  gather, 
that  God  required  the  first  fruits  of  the  land  as  an  acknowl- 
edgment by  the  Israelite  of  the  providential  care  that  had 
watched  over  Abraham  and  his  posterity  from  the  begin- 
ning; that  had  now  given  the  people  an  abundant  harvest, 
and  for  his  goodness  deserved  this  tribute  at  their  hands. 


ROBERT  GRAHAM.  2lg 


The  first  fruits  were  holy  and  dedicated  to  God;  they  were 
the  choicest  produdions  of  the  earth,  and  they  were  an 
earnest  of  the  harvest  about  to  be  reaped.  When  a  man 
is  regenerated  according  to  the  Scriptures,  he  is  wholly 
devoted  to  God.  All  his  faculties  and  powers,  his  time, 
talents,  and  opportunities,  his  whole  being  and  life  are  con- 
secrated to  him  whose  he  is  and  whom  he  serves.  He  is  a 
new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  his  reasonable  service  is 
to  present  his  body  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto 
God.  The  principle  of  Regeneration  is  one  that  prompts 
to  entire  devotion  to  God.  Changed  in  state,  in  life,  and 
in  purpose,  his  affedions  purified,  and  his  soul  freed  from 
the  thralldom  of  sin,  the  renewed  man  seeks  conformity  to 
his  Divine  model,  and  is  thus  prepared  for  his  master's  use. 
He  is,  indeed,  "  a  kind  of  first  fruits  of  his  creatures." 

II.  The  Necessity  of  Regeneration. 

And  first,  my  brethren,  let  me  say,  that  in  calling  the 
process  by  which  we  are  introduced  into  the  kingdom  and 
patience  of  Jesus  a  birth,  the  Savior  has  brought  before 
our  minds  one  of  the  most  appropriate  and  expressive 
comparisons  imaginable.  Let  us  be  here  distindly  un- 
derstood: The  change  in  both  state  and  charader  of  which 
we  are  the  subjeds  in  Regeneration,  is  as  real  as  the  creation 
of  the  world  by  God,  .or  its  redemption  by  Jesus;  but  the 
setting  forth  of  that  change  under  the  similitude  of  a  birth, 
is  highly  figurative,  and  is  at  once  pertinent  and  instruc- 
tive. Christ  is  one  of  the  most  figurative  of  teachers;  his 
instructions  abound  in  parables,  metaphors,  and  beautiful 
analogies:  hence  the  clearness  and  the  charm  in  what  he 
says.  The  deep  supernatural  truths  of  his  kingdom  are 
submitted  to  our  minds  and  hearts  in  analogies  drawn  from 
the  fram°  of  nature;  both  these  constitute  but  one  system 


'120 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  God,  and  of  that  system  Christ  as  the  Divine  Logos 
is  the  author  and  the  finisher. 

The  New  Institution  may  be  contemplated  in  various 
points  of  view;  it  is  many-sided,  and  hence  the  numerous 
parables  employed  by  Christ  to  unfold  its  nature  and  ex- 
cellence. It  was  foretold  by  the  prophets,  under  the  figure 
of  a  kingdom;  and  therefore,  when  John  came  announcing 
the  good  news  of  a  "kingdom  of  God  at  hand,"  the  Jews 
were  at  no  loss  to  vmderstand  his  meaning,  though  they  were 
entirely  ignorant  of  its  spiritual  nature.  They  supposed  it 
was  merely  the  old  kingdom  of  God  established  by  Moses, 
now  to  be  made  more  glorious  by  the  Messiah.  It  was  no 
longer  to  be  under  the  heel  of  the  proud  Caesars;  it  was  to 
triumph  over  Gentile  oppression,  and  the  chosen  seed  of 
Abraham  were  to  possess  it,  because  of  their  fleshly  rela- 
tion to  him.  Descent  from  him,  according  to  the  flesh, 
was  the  ground  of  their  confidence,  their  boast,  and  their 
glory. 

John,  therefore,  laid  great  stress  on  the  necessity  of 
new  principles,  a  new  chara6ler,  and  a  new  life,  as  a  prep- 
aration for  the  kingdom  which  he  preached  ;  and  the  sev- 
enty disciples  were  sent  out  to  aid  in  the  good  work  of 
preparing  men  in  heart,  profession,  and  condudl,  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  shortly  to  be  set  up.  To  call  the 
minds  of  these  carnal  Jews  from  their  earthly  views  of 
the  Messiah's  reign,  the  Harbinger  diredled  their  attention 
to  the  fadt  that  while  he  immersed  them  in  water,  Christ 
would  immerse  them  in  the  Holy  Spirit. 

One  of  the  Jews,  a  master  in  Israel,  came  to  Christ 
himself,  and  acknowledged  him  to  be  an  inspired  teacher 
come  from  God,  as  proved  by  the  miracles  he  wrought.  _ 
True  to  the  grand  design  of  his  kingdom,  and  in  admir- 
able harmony  with  its  nature,  the  Savior  affirms  to  him 


ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


221 


the  absolute  impossibility  of  any  man's  enjoying  it  with- 
out being  first  born  again.  We  are  thus  shut  up  by  the 
great  Teacher  himself,  to  the  conclusion  that  the  birth  of 
which  he  speaks  has  respedt  to  a  spiritual  kingdom,  just 
as  we  know  that  the  word,  in  its  literal  sense,  has  resped: 
to  a  literal  kingdom.  How  natural,  how  apposite,  how 
forcible  is  all  this ! 

In  the  New  Testament,  there  are  many  allusions  made 
to  three  distind:  kingdoms  of  God;  and  into  every  one 
of  these  we  enter  by  a  birth.  There  is  a  beautiful  analogy 
among  these,  and  many  passages  of  Scripture  can  be  under- 
stood only  as  we  keep  this  analogy  clearly  before  the  mind. 
We  enter  the  kingdom  of  nature  by  literal  birth.  Adam 
was  made;  we  are  born.  This  is  according  to  the  will  of 
man.  We  are  born  again,  according  to  the  will  of  God, 
and  we  thus  enter  the  kingdom  of  grace ;  we  shall  be 
quickened  by  the  Spirit  and  born  of  the  grave  before  we 
enter  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Savior 
Jesus  Christ. 

We  enjoy  a  life,  in  each  of  these  kingdoms  of  nature, 
of  grace,  and  of  glory,  suited  to  its  charader  respeftively. 
In  the  first,  it  is  natural;  in  the  second,  spiritual;  and  in 
the  third,  it  is  eternal.  We  derive  all  from  God;  but  the 
first  is  through  our  parents,  the  second  through  the  Gos- 
pel, and  the  third  through  his  power  in  our  resurredion. 
Birth  is  for  the  sake  of  life,  and  this  last  is  the  efflores- 
cence of  the  germ  and  bud  of  our  being,  the  flower  that 
shall  know  no  blight  in  the  paradise  of  God. 

The  Spirit  of  God  is  the  prime  agent  in  all  life.  Till 
it  brooded  in  the  beginning  on  the  abyss,  there  was  no  life; 
it  became  an  embodiment  in  the  word  of  the  Almighty, 
and  light  and  life  flashed  from  the  darkness  and  death  of 
chaos,  a  cosmos  of  light  and  life  came  into  being.  The 


222 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


word  was  spoken,  and  through  it  the  spirit  of  life,  the 
spirit  of  power,  the  Spirit  of  God,  generated  and  brought 
forth  all  animate  things,  and  man  himself,  the  crown  and 
lord  of  all.  Animal  life  is  here  the  result  of  God's  Spirit 
operating  through  his  word.  "  His  word  is  spirit  and 
life."  At  this,  "the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all 
the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy." 

If  we  look  at  spiritual  life,  how  perfeft  the  analogy! 
The  Spirit  of  God  is  the  author  of  our  new  life;  but  that 
Spirit  is  again  in  his  word;  its  re-creating  energy  is  there, 
and  we  are  regenerated  through  the  word  of  truth  in  the 
Gospel,  "for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
every  one  that  believeth."  The  word  of  God  was  the 
envelope  of  his  omnipotence  in  the  creation  of  all  things. 
It  is  not  less  so  now  in  quickening  us  to  a  new  spiritual 
life  in  Christ  Jesus. 

The  Spirit  that  raised  up  Christ  shall  again  become  em- 
bodied in  a  word  of  God;  his  voice  shall  be  heard  in  the 
charnel  house,  and  those  mortal  bodies  shall  throw  off  the 
cerements  of  the  grave,  and  come  forth  to  die  no  more. 
We  shall  enter  into  what  Peter  calls  "the  everlasting  king- 
dom of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ."  It  is  rightly 
so  called,  for  it  is  the  grand  consummation  of  all  God's 
purposes  of  grace  and  mercy  toward  his  believing  and 
obedient  children. 

But,  we  have  said,  all  birth  is  for  the  sake  of  life.  Is  it 
not  thus  ?  We  are  born  into  the  world,  not  that  we  may 
simply  exist,  but  that  we  may  live.  We  eat  and  drink  to 
sustain  life;  but  that  life  is  in  the  flesh,  and  is  sustained 
by  the  bread  and  water  that  perish.  We  may  eat  and  live 
thus,  grow  old  and  die,  and  yet  be  strangers  to  that  bread 
that  came  down  from  heaven  to  give  life  to  the  world.  It 
is  in  admirable  harmony  with  our  analogy  of  a  new  birth 


ROBERT  GRAHAM.  223 


and  a  new  life  that  Christ  says  "we  must  eat  of  the 
bread  that  he  gives  us  ;"  and  that  "man  shall  not  live  by 
bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  of  God."  If  we  do  this, 
"we  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  die  any  more."  If 
we  drink  of  the  water  he  gives,  "it  shall  be  in  us  a  well 
of  water  springing  up  to  everlasting  life."  The  morning 
of  the  resurreftion  shall  witness  our  third  and  final  birth; 
we  shall  then  enter  on  an  eternal  life,  to  be  forever  nour- 
ished by  the  tree  of  life  and  the  river  that  issues  from  the 
throne  of  God. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  affirm,  and  to  affirm  confi- 
dently, that  the  declaration  of  Christ  is  in  every  way  con- 
sonant with  all  our  conceptions  of  a  kingdom  and  of  life. 
Who  can  conceive  of  the  former  without  subjedls  of  the 
latter  without  birth And  why  the  former,  but  for  the 
sake  and  for  the  development  of  the  latter?  We  can  not 
live,  in  its  proper  sense,  without  being  born;  and,  as  soon 
as  we  are  born,  we  enter  a  kingdom.  "  Except  ye  be  born 
again  ye  can  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

This  passage,  then,  teaches  one  great  truth  about  the 
new  birth,  and  that  is,  its  absolute  necessity.  We  can  not 
give  too  much  emphasis  to  this  declaration  of  the  Master. 
In  the  nature  of  things,  there  is  no  entering  into  the  king- 
dom of  God;  there  is  no  enjoying  this  new  life  but  by 
being  born  again.  The  sense  of  the  passage  is  one,  and 
not  manifold;  there  is  one,  and  but  one  complete  judg- 
ment of  Christ's  mind  in  the  language  under  considera- 
tion; that  judgment  is  one  and  the  same  to  all  who  know 
the  meaning  of  words;  we  do  not  ask  you  to  admit  it,  we 
challenge  the  world  to  deny  it — that  single  idea  is,  that 
Regeneration  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

If  this  truth  were  appreciated  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  if 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


we  were  prepared  to  accept  its  inevitable  consequences, 
much  misconception  and  wrangling  about  religion  would 
disappear.  Prejudices,  such  as  were  a  hindrance  to  the 
Jew,  and  are  yet  so  to  many  a  Gentile,  would  give  way. 
No  longer  would  infant  baptism,  infant  regeneration,  in- 
fant church-membership,  and,  I  blush  to  name  it,  infant 
damnation,  hold  a  place  in  Protestant  symbols  of  faith. 
These,  with  a  score  of  exploded  dogmas  in  relation  to  con- 
version, abstraft  spiritual  operations,  and  what  is  improp- 
erly called  experimental  religion,  would  be  known  only  as 
the  lifeless  creed  of  the  dogmatist  or  the  wild  fancies  of 
the  enthusiast. 

We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  professed  Christians  do, 
in  words,  deny  the  necessity  of  the  new  birth;  we  are  more 
than  pleased  to  know  that  there  is  a  general  agreement  as 
to  such  necessity,  but  we  fear  it  is  more  a  concession  for 
the  sake  of  orthodoxy,  than  a  conscious  truth  of  the  heart. 
If  this  be  not  true,  they  would  hardly  repudiate  its  obvious 
consequences. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case,  then,  and  from  the  posi- 
tive teaching  of  Christ  in  this  passage,  we  conclude  a  new 
birth  to  be  a  necessity  in  every  case  to  which  the  language 
applies.  What  the  Divine  Father  of  all  does  with  those 
who  are  incapable  of  hearing,  believing,  and  obeying  the 
Gospel,  is  not  a  question  before  us,  nor  is  its  discussion 
necessarily  conned;ed  with  our  present  purpose. 

We  may  now  sum  up  what  we  have  to  say  on  both  the 
nature  and  the  necessity  of  Regeneration  in  a  brief  scrip- 
tural statement:  It  is  the  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  God,  that  is 
the  efficient  agent  in  this  wonderful  transformation  ;  the 
means  employed  is  the  word  of  God  contained  in  the 
Gospel,  more  particularly  the  truth  that  "Jesus  is  the 
Christ;"  which  is,  in  fad,  the  whole  Gospel  in  epitome. 


ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


Through  this  we  are  begotten  to  a  hope  of  life  by  the 
resurredion  of  Jesus  Christ,  (i  Pet.  i:  3.)  The  Father 
begets  us  through  his  Word,  inspired  into  the  apostles  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  spoken  by  them  in  their  testimony 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ ;  this  Word,  received  into  the 
heart  of  the  sinner,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  is  the  seed 
of  the  kingdom,  which  germinates  there,  and  of  it  he  is 
begotten,  and  of  it  only.  When  such  a  one  comes  forth  of 
the  water  in  which  he  has  been  baptized  into  the  name  of 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  according  to  the 
Savior's  command,  the  process  of  his  Regeneration  is  com- 
pleted. He  is  saved  by  the  washing  of  Regeneration,  and 
the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  (Titus  iii:  5.) 

From  what  has  been  said  it  follows,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  mystical  and  abstradl  regeneration  without  the 
word  of  God,  the  means  and  motives  of  the  Gospel,  an- 
terior to  faith,  and  in  order  to  faith,  is  opposed  alike  to 
the  simplicity  of  the  Divine  teaching  and  the  analogy  of 
nature.  It  is  opposed  to  the  simplicity  of  the  Divine 
teaching,_  for  it  leads  to  confused  ideas  of  the  whole  plan 
of  redemption;  it  contradicts  the  plainest  teachings  of 
Christ  and  the  apostles;  it  nullifies  the  commands  of  the 
Savior,  and  leads  the  sinner  to  depend  on  an  influence  of 
the  Spirit  not  promised,  and  never  to  be  realized.  It  makes 
him  the  dupe  of  feelings  inconstant  and  deceptive,  and 
the  hero  of  what  would  be  a  farce  but  for  its  seriousness 
and  the  interests  involved.  It  is  opposed  to  the  analogy 
of  nature,  for  it  leads  us  to  suppose  that  God  has  two 
processes  of  birth  into  the  same  kingdom;  one  ordinary, 
the  other  extraordinary;  one  normal,  the  other  abnormal; 
one  through  means,  the  other  without  means.  Is  this 
true  of  his  natural  kingdom?  Has  God  many  ways,  or 
one  way,  of  producing  animal,  vegetable,  or  any  kind  of 
15 


226 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


life?  Is  not  his  glorious  power  in  the  production  of 
myriads  of  beings  in  all  departments  of  his  physical  world 
manifest  in  this,  that  what-  is  necessary  for  the  producing 
of  one  is  so  for  all  ?  and  that  nothing  more  than  he  has 
appointed  is  necessary? 

III.  The  blessed  consequences  of  Regeneration. 

The  Pythagoreans,  who  believed  in  the  metempsychosis 
or  transmigration  of  souls,  called  the  union  of  the  soul 
with  a  new  body  a  regeneration.  The  Greeks  called  the 
Spring,  when  the  dormant  energies  of  earth  and  air  are 
waked  to  new  life  and  adtivity,  the  regeneration  of  the 
year.  Christ,  in  one  of  the  only  two  passages  where  the 
word  is  found  in  the  Scriptures,  calls  the  renovation  he 
came  to  effed:  a  regeneration.  "Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
that  ye  which  have  followed  me,  in  the  regeneration  when 
the  Son  of  Man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye 
also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel."  (Matt,  xix:  28.) 

Christ  does  two  things  for  those  who  receive  him  in  the 
Gospel,  which,  though  co-etaneous  and  inseparable,  are, 
nevertheless,  very  distindt.  When  we  believe  in  Christ, 
and  obey  the  Gospel,  we  are  freely  justified  for  his  sake. 
According  to  the  terms  of  the  New  Covenant,  our  sins 
and  iniquities  are  remembered  no  more.  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,"  are  the  words  of 
the  promise,  and  the  promise,  too,  of  him  whose  truth 
never  fails.  This  salvation  is  not  only  from  former  con- 
demnation; it  not  only  obliterates  the  past,  and  places  us 
before  God  justified  ;  but  it  embraces  the  implanting  in 
our  hearts  a  new  principle  of  life.  We  are,  henceforth,  a 
new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus  :  "  Old  things  are  passed 
away,  and  all  things  are  become  new."    There  is  some- 


ROBERT  GRAHAM. 


227 


thing  done  for  us,  and  something  done  in  us,  by  our  Re- 
deemer. This  latter  is  the  essential  idea  in  Regeneration. 
It  is  a  new  life;  but  life  has  respe6l  to  a  kingdom,  and, 
therefore,  we  have  a  regenerated  charadler  and  a  regener- 
ated state.  Baptism  is  the  consummation  of  the  Divine 
process,  and  marks  the  point  of  transition  from  a  state 
of  alienation  to  one  of  reconciliation,  pardon,  and  peace. 
He,  then,  who,  according  to  the  Gospel,  puts  on  Christ, 
becomes  in  him  a  new  creature;  he  is  regenerated  and  born 
again.  This  is  the  spiritual  metempsychosis.  The  new  life 
in  Christ  is  his,  and,  freed  from  the  condemnation  of  sin, 
with  the  love  of  it  eradicated  from  his  heart,  he  begins  a 
new  existence;  the  spring  of  his  new  life  has  come;  the  old 
man  of  sin  is  destroyed,  and  the  new  man,  created  in  the 
image  of  God,  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  lives  in 
him.  God  has  said  to  him:  "  Behold,  I  make  all  things 
new."  The  renovation  is  efFefted,  and  Christ  is  seated 
on  the  throne  of  his  glory. 

2d.  "Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin." 
(i  John  iii:  9.)  Whereas,  before  his  new  birth,  sin  had 
power  over  him,  he  now  has  power  over  sin.  "  He  sin- 
neth  not,  because  his  seed  abideth  in  him."  What  a  blessed 
result  is  this!  The  child  of  God  not  only  has  a  new  life, 
a  new  nature  given  him — he  not  only  lives  in  a  new  state, 
but,  when  tempted  by  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  Devil, 
he  has  the  power  to  resist ;  he  is  strong  in  the  Lord,  and 
in  the  power  of  his  might.  He  not  only  has  life,  but  he 
has  it  more  abundantly."  Would  we  all  realized  "the  full- 
ness of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ"  brought  to 
us  in  our  regeneration  ! 

3d.  We  are  adopted  into  the  family  of  God.  We  are 
begotten  of  him,  and,  therefore,  are  his  children.  The 
spirit  of  adoption  is  sent  into  our  hearts.   Thus  speaks  the 


228 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Apostle  Paul,  (Gal.  iv:  6:)  "And  because  ye  are  sons, 
God  has  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  your  hearts, 
crying,  Abba,  Father."  There  is  not  a  blessing  of  the 
New  Covenant  that  is  not  included  in  this.  The  new- 
born soul  feels  its  relationship  to  God,  angels,  and  the 
redeemed  in  this  world  and  around  the  throne  of  God. 
There  is  not  a  promise  it  may  not  claim  ;  there  is  not  a 
privilege  it  may  not  enjoy;  there  is  not  an  honor  in 
heaven  or  earth  to  which  it  may  not  aspire. 

4th.  We  become  heirs  of  God  by  our  new  birth.  The 
wealth  of  the  universe  is  ours  ;  the  riches  of  Christ  are 
our  patrimony.  We  may  be  as  our  Master  was  while  on 
earth,  poor  and  needy;  but  as  our  Master  is,  we  also  be- 
come heirs  of  the  world.  Thrones,  and  dominions,  and 
powers  are  to  be  subjedl  to  us  ;  for,  as  Christ  overcame, 
and  is  seated  on  his  Father's  throne,  so  are  we  to  over- 
come, and  to  be  seated  on  Christ's  throne.  In  a  word, 
when  we  become  children  of  God,  we  come  into  a  new 
world;  the  powers  and  capacities  of  the  soul  are  free  from 
the  thraldom  of  sin,  and  a  new  spirit  is  given  us,  and  we 
are  made  heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  "All  things  are  yours:  whether  Paul,  or  Apol- 
los,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things 
present,  or  things  to  come;  all  are  yours,  and  ye  are 
Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's. 

Such,  my  brethren,  is  the  teaching  of  Scripture  on  this 
interesting  theme;  and  may  God  bless  it  to  our  minds 
and  hearts  that  we  may  all  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Amen. 


MOSES  E.  LARD. 


TF  it  be  true  that  "just  as  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree's  inclined,"  then,  if 
the  author  of  a  "Review  of  Campbellism  Examined"  did  not  grow  up 
into  a  crooked  tree,  he  certainly  deserves  great  credit  for  overcoming  his 
inclinations.  But  his  life  is  a  fine  illustration  of  the  wonderful  workings 
of  Providence,  as  "from  seeming  evil  he  is  still  educing  good." 

Moses  E.  Lard  was  born  in  Bedford  County,  Tennessee,  October  29th, 
1818.  His  parents  were  Scotch,  and  migrated  to  Missouri  when  the 
son  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age.  His  father  was  a  man  of  "quick, 
strong  sense;  tall  and  straight  as  an  Indian,  with  a  flashing  eye  and  black 
hair ;  of  manly  bearing,  candid,  frank,  and  generous  to  a  fault ;  loved  his 
friend  with  an  intense  love,  and  hated  his  enemy  with  an  intense  hate;  a 
man  of  great  courage,  quick  temper,  but  cool  and  self-possessed."  He  was 
always  very  poor,  and  though  respefting  religion  in  others,  never  became 
religious  himself.  The  mother  was  a  deeply  pious  woman,  a  stridt  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  thoroughly  devoted  to  the  moral  training 
of  her  children.  Soon  after  settling  in  Missouri,  the  father  died  of  small- 
pox, leaving  the  widow  and  six  children  without  any  means  of  support. 
It  was  not  long  before  the  family  was  compelled  to  separate.  The  part- 
ing scene  with  his  mother  is  thus  described  by  the  subjeft  of  this  sketch : 
"As  my  brother  and  myself  stood  beneath  the  little  cabin  eaves,  just  ready 
to  take  leave  of  the  only  objefts  on  earth  dear  to  us,  and  thus  close  the 
saddest  scene  of  our  lives,  my  mother  said  :  '  My  dear  boys,  I  have  nothing 
to  give  you  but  my  blessing  and  these  two  little  books.'  Her  soul  was 
breaking,  and  she  could  say  no  more.  She  then  drew  from  her  bosom  two 
small  Testaments;  and  as  her  tears  were  streaming,  and  lips  quivering,  she 
screamed  as  if  it  were  her  last,  and  placed  them  in  our  hands.  We  all  said 
good-by,  and  that  family  was  forever  broken  on  earth.  Yet,  gentle  readei, 
think  us  not  poor  as  we  turned  frcm  that  mean  abode.  We  bore  with  us 
a  Christian  mother's  blessing,  and  the  precious  words  of  Jesus.  We  were 
wealthy  boys.    To  that  little  book  and  the  memory  of  that  scene  my  future 

(229) 


230 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


life  owes  its  shaping.  I  never  neglefted  the  one,  thank  Heaven,  nor  for- 
got the  other." 

At  seventeen  years  of  age  he  was  not  able  to  write  his  own  name ;  but 
finally  learned  to  write  by  tearing  down  the  advertisements  stuck  up  around 
the  village,  and  using  them  for  copy.  From  about  this  time  till  he  was 
twenty-three,  he  lived  a  hard  life,  and  time  dragged  heavily  on.  He  was 
deeply  religious  in  feeling,  though  not  so  in  life;  for  he  did  not  know  how 
to  be  so.  He  heard  the  various  religious  parties  preach,  but  could  not 
understand  them.  Finally,  he  was  driven  to  infidelity.  But  after  strug- 
gling awhile  with  its  unsatisfaiflory  conclusions,  he  heard  one  of  the  Dis- 
ciples preach  the  primitive  Gospel.  He  was  at  once  captivated  by  its  sim- 
plicity and  beauty ;  and  before  the  meeting  closed,  he  was  a  Christian.  He 
was  twenty-three  years  of  age  when  he  was  immersed,  and  the  next  year  he 
held  his  "  first  meeting,"  an  interesting  account  of  which  is  given  in  No.  2, 
vol.  I  of  the  "  Quarterly."  On  the  4th  of  March,  1845,  he  entered  Bethany 
College.  He  had  then  a  wife  and  two  children.  Under  great  pecuniary 
embarrassment  he  went  through  college,  and  graduated  with  distinguished 
honors,  making  the  valedi£lory  address.  He  then  returned  to  Missouri,  and 
entered  actively  and  successfully  upon  the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel — 
most  of  his  labors  being  in  the  evangelical  field.  In  1857,  he  published 
his  "  Review  of  Campbellism  Examined,"  a  work,  which,  when  considered 
with  reference  to  its  design,  simply  leaves  nothing  more  to  be  said.  In 
1859  he  made  a  successfiil  preaching  tour  through  Kentucky;  and  returning 
home,  had,  in  1 860,  a  debate  of  several  days  with  a  distinguished  Methodist 
Presiding  Elder,  by  the  name  of  Caples.  In  1863,  he  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky, and  began  the  publication  of  the  "  Quarterly,"  an  able  periodical, 
which  he  still  edits.    He  resides  at  present  in  Lexington,  Kentucky. 

Brother  Lard  is  about  six  feet  three  inches  high,  has  a  large,  bony  frame, 
dark  hair,  small  piercing  eyes,  and  a  mouth  that  indicates  decision  and  great 
firmness.  He  has  a  strong  analytical  mind,  is  a  close  and  vigorous  thinker, 
and  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  the  Disciples  as  a  writer  and  speaker. 
Though  an  extemporaneous  speaker,  his  st^-le  is  much  the  same  when  speak- 
ing as  writing.  Ever}'  sentence  is  uttered  with  a  correftness  and  precision 
to  which  nothing  but  diligent,  laborious  preparation  could  attain.  He  is 
emphaticallv  a  student;  not  that  he  reads  so  many  books,  but  that  he  com- 
pletely masters  whatever  he  undertakes.  His  preaching  is  charafterized  by 
more  heart  power  than  is  generally  supposed  by  those  who  have  formed 
their  judgments  of  him  from  his  writings.  His  whole  nature  is  in  deep 
sympathy  with  all  kinds  of  suffering ;  and  when  thoroughly  aroused  in  the 
pulpit,  he  not  unfrequently  carries  his  audience  before  an  irresistible  tide 
of  the  most  impassioned  eloquence. 


CHRIST'S   CONVERSATION  WITH 
NICODEMUS. 


BY  M.  E.  LARD. 


"  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God." — John  hi  :  5. 

IT  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  in  the  judgment  of 
most  professors,  to  overestimate  the  importance  of  the 
new  birth;  and  when  we  refledl  on  the  position  assigned 
it  by  the  Savior,  this  judgment  must  be  felt  to  be  corredt. 
Without  it,  no  man  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  Into 
that  kingdom  he  may  desire  to  enter,  may  pray  to  enter, 
may  even  think  he  has  entered;  but  into  it  he  can  never 
go,  without  being  born  again.    This  determines  its  value. 

Now,  in  whatever  the  new  birth  may  consist,  whatever 
processes  may  be  necessary  to  complete  it,  no  matter  how 
many,  nor  what  its  component  parts,  of  one  thing  I  am  sat- 
isfied: its  solution  must  be  sought  mainly  in  a  well-con- 
duded  analysis  of  the  conversation  with  Nicodemus.  If, 
on  examination,  this  conversation  does  not  suggest  its  ex- 
planation, I  shall  despair  of  ever  attaining  one.  Confir- 
mation from  other  portions  of  Holy  Writ  this  explanation 
may  receive;  but  a  solution  the  new  birth  itself  will  not 
receive.  The  conversation  with  Nicodemus  is  the  very 
soil  in  which  the  pearl  lies  buried. 

(231) 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


At  once,  then,  I  come  to  consider  the  great  dodlrinal 
statement,  in  that  conversation,  which  involves  the  whole 
subjeft.  It  runs  thus:  Except  a  man  be  horn  of  water, 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 
This  statement  I  regard  as  presenting  us  with  a  complete 
view  of  the  new  birth,  as  informing  us  in  what  it  consists, 
as  comprehending,  in  other  words,  the  two  grand  fa£ls 
which  constitute  it.  In  the  declaration,  "Except  a  man 
be  born  again  he  can  not  see  the  kingdom  of  God,"  the 
Savior  merely  propounds  the  doftrine  of  the  new  birth 
generally,  in  a  statement  of  the  necessity  of  it;  whereas, 
in  the  more  elaborate  statement,  "  Except  a  man  be  born 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  he  states  definitively  in  what  it  consists, 
reiterating  the  necessity  of  it.  The  former  statement  pro- 
pounds the  do6lrine,  the  latter  statement  explains  it. 

Now,  unless  it  should  turn  out  that  the  Savior  has  made 
provision  equally  for  the  salvation  of  those  within  and 
those  without  the  kingdom  of  God,  then  the  necessity  of 
the  new  birth  becomes  absolute  and  overwhelming.  If 
the  blessing  of  remission  of  sins  be  limited  to  those  within 
the  kingdom,  then  neither  flight  of  fancy  nor  fertility  of 
imagination  can  exaggerate  the  importance  of  being  born 
again.  Should  it  so  happen,  moreover,  that  the  Savior 
has,  in  the  declaration  now  in  hand,  afforded  us  the  means 
of  knowing  what  it  is  to  be  born  again;  if  he  has  put  it 
beyond  our  power  to  plead  unavoidable  ignorance  in  re- 
gard to  it,  pity,  Lord,  pity  the  willful  blindness  of  count- 
less thousands  who  now  call  themselves  the  children  of 
God ! 

The  great  statement  of  which  I  am  now  treating  natu- 
rally distributes  itself  into  two  clauses,  each  clause  com- 
prehending an  integral  part  of  the  new  birth,  and  the  two 


M.  E.  LARD. 


parts  exhausting  it.  These  clauses  are  respeftively :  born 
of  water,  born  of  the  Spirit.  I  shall  now  attempt  to  unfold 
their  meaning  at  length,  and  in  the  order  in  which  they 
occur. 

The  first  question  to  be  settled,  and  a  most  important 
one,  is:  In  what  sense  are  we  to  construe  the  expression, 
born  of  water?  in  a  literal  or  in  a  figurative  sense?  This 
question  will,  perhaps,  be  best  answered  by  resolving  the 
expression  into  the  two  simple  members  which  compose 
it,  and  by  examining  each  of  them  separately.  These 
members  are  born  of  and  water.  To  some  this  division 
may  seem  unnecessarily  minute.  I  do  not  think  it  so. 
By  thus  breaking  down  the  clause  into  these  two  simple 
verbal  members,  its  subjeds  come  singly  into  view,  by 
which  means  each  can  be  subjedled  to  a  more  severe,  be- 
cause a  more  distindl,  examination. 

Upon  the  import  of  the  expression  "born  of,"  which 
all  allow  to  be  metaphorical,  there  exists,  I  believe,  no  di- 
versity of  opinion,  provided  only  we  can  settle  definitely 
the  import  of  the  term  water.  Are  we,  then,  to  construe 
this  term  in  its  ordinary  and  literal  acceptation,  or  in  a 
figurative  sense?  In  the  latter  sense,  respond  many.  Let 
us  now  examine  the  hypothesis  implied  in  this  response, 
which,  being  concisely  expressed  in  the  form  of  a  propo- 
sition, is  this:  The  term  water  is  figurative. 

But  this  proposition  is  only  asserted;  it  is  not  proved. 
Before,  therefore,  it  can  justly  challenge  our  assent,  it 
must  be  supported  by  relevant  and  satisfactory  testi- 
mony. This  testimony  we  have  a  right  to  demand,  yet 
it  has  never  been  adduced,  though  the  proposition  has 
often  been  re-asserted.  In  proving  the  proposition,  we 
should  expeft  to  see  a  course  pursued  something  like  the 
following:  We  should  expedl  an  accurate  analysis  of  the 


234 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


new  birth,  in  which  its  constituent  part?  would  all  be 
clearly  pointed  out;  we  should  exped  an  orderly  enumer- 
ation of  these  parts,  each  being  complete  without  water ;  we 
should  expert  at  least  a  few  apt  remarks  on  the  grounds 
and  propriety  of  using  the  term  water  in  a  figurative  sense; 
we  should  exped:  to  be  shown,  with  remarkable  clearness, 
what  thing  the  term,  in  its  figurative  sense,  is  intended  to 
denote — precisely  what  it  expresses ;  we  should  expedt  to 
be  then  shown  that  this  thing,  thus  expressed,  aftually  con- 
stituted one  of  the  previously  enumerated  parts  of  the  new 
birth;  and,  finally,  we  should  exped  the  whole  argument 
to  be  strongly  summed  up,  and  the  results  shown  to  cor- 
respond minutely  with  the  great  elementary  dodlrines  of 
salvation  as  set  forth  by  Christ  and  his  apostles.  But 
have  these  reasonable  expectations  been  gratified?  They 
have  not. 

Here,  then,  I  might,  on  grounds  stridtly  just,  rest  for 
the  present  the  discussion  of  this  proposition.  I  shall, 
however,  proceed  to  test  its  accuracy  still  further,  though, 
in  logical  fairness,  under  no  obligation  to  do  so. 

The  term  water  is  figurative.  This  is  a  tough  saying. 
Innumerable  have  been  the  efforts  which  have  been  made 
to  sustain  it;  yet  not  the  semblance  of  success  has  ever 
crowned  one  of  them.  On  all  lies  the  stain  of  iniquity. 
What,  I  am  curious  to  know,  has  ever  put  it  into  any 
head  of  man  to  say  of  the  term,  it  is  figurative  ?  The  an- 
swer is  not  difficult.  The  literal  meaning  of  the  term 
stands  against  those  who  have  so  said;  stands  against  their 
tenets,  and  shuts  them  out  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Hence 
to  accommodate  them  it  must  be  figurative.  This,  and  no 
other,  is  the  answer. 

But  is  the  term  figurative?  Then  is  it  so  for  sufficient 
reasons,  which  being  assigned,  would  account  for  the  fad; 


M.  E.  LARD. 


*35 


and  these  reasons  are  discoverable.  For  if  no  such  reasons 
exist,  then  is  the  term  figurative  without  a  reason,  which, 
in  the  case  of  a  term  used  by  the  Savior,  is  inadmissible; 
and  unless  discoverable,  though  the  reasons  may  exist,  the 
effed  is  the  same  with  us  as  though  they  had  no  existence. 
It  is  presumed,  then,  that  the<ie  reasons,  unless  purely 
imaginary,  will  be  found  in  some  one  or  more  of  the  fol- 
lowing items : 

1.  The  nature  of  the  case,  of  the  new  birth; 

2.  The  laws  regulating  the  use  of  figurative  language;  or, 
3  The  sense  resulting  from  a  figurative  constru£lion. 
First,  then,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  case.  This  I  con- 
ceive to  be  the  ground  on  which  chiefly,  if  not  alone,  the 
figurative  construction  of  the  term  water  is  to  be  defended. 
For  if  the  nature  of  the  case  be  such  that  thin  term  can 
not  be,  in  a  literal  acceptation,  predicated  of  it,  even  in 
part,  then  is  the  figurative  construction  the  alternative  we 
must  accept.  Are  we,  then,  obliged,  by  a  necessity  inher- 
ent in  the  nature  of  the  case,  to  construe  the  term  water 
figuratively?  If  not,  then  must  we  construe  it  ordinarily 
and  literally.  Now,  if  any  such  inherent  necessity  exist, 
it  must  be  owing  to  the  fa6l  that  the  new  birth  is,  in  all 
its  parts  and  circumstances,  complete  without  water;  for, 
if  not  thus  complete,  then  we  need  the  term  water  to  ex- 
press the  fad.  But  before  we  can  infer  any  thing  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  we  must,  of  course,  know  what  the 
case  itself  is.  Here,  now,  we  encounter  a  serious  diffi- 
culty. For,  until  the  import  of  the  term  water  is  settled, 
the  meaning  of  the  new  birth  remains  doubtful.  This  is 
one  of  the  terms  employed  by  the  Savior  to  describe  the 
new  birth.  Until,  therefore,  we  settle  its  meaning,  we 
remain  ignorant  to  this  extent  of  what  the  new  birth  is. 
Hence  from  the  nature  of  this  thing  we  can  infer  nothing. 


236 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


But  should  it  be  alleged  that  we  can  know,  independ- 
ently of  the  import  of  the  term  water,  in  what  the  new 
birth  consists,  and  therefore  in  what  acceptation  the  term 
is  to  be  taken,  I  ask  how?  There  are  but  two  possible 
ways.  Either  we  must  be  able  to  know  it  in  and  of  our- 
selves, and  independently  of  the  Word  of  God,  or  from 
passages  of  Scripture  which  contain  no  allusion  to  water. 
No  one  who  is  not  willing  to  be  the  dupe  of  his  own  fancy, 
will  assert  that  he  can  know  any  thing  of  the  matter  in  the 
first-named  way.  Neither  can  he  know  any  thing  of  it  in 
the  second,  for  the  only  passage  in  the  New  Testament, 
which  describes  the  new  birth  fully,  contains  the  term 
water.  Hence,  till  we  know  what  this  term  means,  we 
shall  never  know  what  the  new  birth  is. 

Second:  As  to  the  laws  regulating  the  use  of  figurative 
language.  Most  words,  as  is  well  known  to  the  reader, 
are  capable  of  being  used  in  two  acceptations :  a  literal  or 
ordinary,  and  figurative;  some  even  in  three:  literal,  or- 
dinarv,  and  figurative.  In  many  instances  it  happens  that 
the  ordinary  import  and  the  literal  are  the  same,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  term  water;  in  some,  again,  the  ordinary  and 
the  figurative  agree,  while  the  literal  often  differs  from  both. 
Hence,  in  construing  a  passage,  the  first  thing  in  order  is 
to  ascertain,  bv  the  aid  of  some  safe  rule,  the  acceptation 
in  which  its  terms  are  to  be  taken.  This  rule  is,  with  one 
consent,  allowed  to  be  mainly  the  sense  intended  by  the 
writer.  But  this,  though  the  chief,  is  not  the  only  means 
frequently  at  hand  for  determining  this  point.  The  man- 
ner in  which  a  term  is  introduced  often  enables  us  to  de- 
cide it.  When  a  term  is  attended  by  the  words  like,  so, 
as,  with  manv  others,  which  serve  to  introduce  compari- 
sons and  other  figures,  we  at  once  pronounce  the  term,  so 
attended,  figurative.    But  where  this  is  not  the  case,  and 


M.  E.  LARD. 


^37 


where  the  sense  does  not  imperatively  demand  it,  it  is  both 
arbitrary  and  dangerous  to  construe  a  term  figuratively. 

Now,  is  the  term  water,  in  the  clause  in  hand,  attended 
by  any  verbal  sign  indicative  of  a  figurative  use  ?  Cer- 
tainly not.  Here,  then,  the  inference  is  conclusive  against 
a  figurative  construdion.  But  does  not  the  sense  of  the 
passage  require  it  to  be  so  construed  ?  True,  it  is  so 
asserted ;  but  this  is  precisely  the  thing  which  I  deny,  and 
which  I  do  not  intend  shall  be  taken  for  granted.  But 
the  assertion  can  not  be  true  ;  for,  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
only  when  the  term  is  construed  literally  that  the  clause 
makes  any  sense  at  all.  Construe  it  figuratively,  and  you 
forever  hide  every  vestige  of  meaning  in  the  clause.  In- 
deed, the  real  question  here  at  issue  is  not  whether  the 
term  is  or  is  not  figurative,  but  whether  it  has  a  literal, 
or  absolutely  no  meaning.  The  question  is  not  what 
meaning  are  men  willing  to  receive,  but  what  is  the  mean- 
ing they  must  receive^  or  reje6t  all  meaning.  Too  many, 
I  well  know,  are  not  willing  to  receive  the  literal  meaning; 
and  this  is  their  sole  reason  for  preferring  a  figurative  one. 
But  this  is  not  to  make  the  will  of  God,  but  the  prefer- 
ence of  man,  our  rule  of  adion. 

But  let  us  concede  for  a  moment  that  the  term  water  is 
figurative.  To  what  class,  then,  of  figurative  words  does 
it  belong?  Indisputably  it  is  a  metaphor;  for  to  this 
class  belong  all  those  words  which  are  used  figuratively 
with  no  verbal  sign  to  denote  the  faft.  Now,  a  word  is 
used  metaphorically  when  it  is  taken  from  denoting  what 
it  ordinarily  means  to  become,  for  the  present,  the  name 
of  something  which  it  does  not  ordinarily  mean.  Still, 
in  all  cases,  it  becomes  the  name  of  some  real  thing,  never 

nothing.  A  word,  moreover,  is  used  metaphorically  be- 
cause the  thing  which  it  usually  denotes  resembles,  in  more 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


or  less  respeds,  the  thing  which  it  is  used  metaphorically 
to  denote,  and  because  it  is  wished  to  suggest  that  resem- 
blance. Of  metaphors  there  are  two  classes,  determined 
by  the  manner  in  which  we  discover  the  meaning  of  the 
metaphoric  word.  To  the  first  class  belong  all  those 
words  which,  on  being  simply  heard  in  their  connexion, 
instantly,  without  any  extrinsic  aid,  suggest  to  the  mind 
their  meaning.  To  the  second,  all  those  words  which,  on 
being  simply  heard,  do  not  instantly  suggest  their  mean- 
ing, so  deeply  is  it  hid,  but  have  it  brought  out  by  some 
added  explanation. 

The  following  may  serve  as  instances  of  the  two  classes: 

I.  The  Savior  said  of  Herod :  "  Go  and  tell  that  fox, 
behold  I  cast  out  demons,  and  I  do  cures  to-day  and  to- 
morrow, and  the  third  day  I  shall  be  perfedled."  Here 
we  as  instantly  colledl  his  meaning  as  if  he  had  said,  Go 
and  tell  that  cunning  king. 

1.  "  He  that  believes  in  me,  as  the  Scripture  has  said, 
out  of  him  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water."  Here  the 
mind  is  held  in  complete  suspense,  unable  to  penetrate 
the  mystery  in  which  the  term  water  involves  the  sentence, 
until  it  is  added  :  "  But  this  spoke  he  of  the  Spirit  which 
they  that  believe  on  him  should  receive." 

Now,  to  which  of  these  two  classes — and  there  are  no 
others — does  the  term  water,  now  in  question,  belong  ? 
Not  to  the  latter;  for  no  explanatory  clause  is  added. 
Neither  to  the  former;  for,  on  being  pronounced,  it  sug- 
gests, on  the  figurative  hypothesis,  just  no  meaning  at  all. 
Hence,  again  from  these  premises  nothing  can  be  inferred 
in  support  of  the  preceding  proposition,  but,  rather,  it  is 
felt  to  be  false. 

Third  :  The  sense  resulting  from  a  figurative  construc- 
tion.   This  brings  me  to  notice  the  most  objedionable 


M.  E.  LARD. 


feature  in  this  whole  theory;  for,  not  only  has  the  term 
water  been  treated  as  figurative,  without  a  single  reason, 
but,  where  it  has  been  assigned  any  meaning  at  all,  it  has 
been  a  most  fanciful  one.  Surely,  my  hearers  need  not 
be  informed  that  figurative  language  has  meaning  no  less 
than  literal ;  nor  that  an  idea  is  wholly  unaffeffted  by  the 
kind  of  language  in  which  it  is  conveyed.  A  thought  re- 
mains the  same  whether  communicated  in  literal  or  in  figur- 
ative language.  But,  clearly,  he  who  asserts  a  word  to  be 
figurative,  must  know  what  it  means  ;  otherwise,  if  con 
scientious,  he  would  not  venture  the  assertion.  Hence, 
clearly,  must  they  who  assert  that  the  term  water  is  figur- 
ative, know  what  it  means.  But  have  they  pointed  that 
meaning  out  ?    Never  ;  this  they  dare  not  attempt. 

True,  we  are  told  that  water  is  an  emblem — an  emblem, 
too,  of  purification.  But  the  term  water,  now  in  hand,  is 
held  to  be  figurative ;  hence,  of  course,  there  is  here  no 
water.  It  is  excluded  by  the  very  nature  of  the  case;  there- 
fore, since  there  is  here  no  water,  there  is  here  no  emblem ; 
and  since  no  emblem,  nothing  emblemized,  and  hence  no 
purification.    Thus  this  groundless  conceit  vanishes. 

But  is  the  term  water  figurative  ?  Granted,  for  a  mo- 
ment. Still,  it  has  meaning.  Let,  now,  this  meaning  be 
determined — definitely  determined.  Next,  let  the  term 
water  be  displaced  from  the  clause  in  hand,  but  its  mean- 
ing retained  in  some  fit  word.  Then  let  us  read  :  "  Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  of  \_ibe  thing  which  the  term  water 
denotes^  no  matter  what  it  is\  and  the  Spirit,  he  can  not 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  From  this  there  is  ab- 
solutely no  escape.  Settle  what  the  term  water  stands  for. 
Then,  of  that  thing  unless  a  man  be  born,  against  him  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  forever  shut.  True,  we  thus  get  rid 
of  the  water ;  but  whether  we  thereby  ease  the  way  into 


240 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  kingdom  of  God,  may  well  be  doubted.  Still,  two 
things  are  left,  of  both  of  which  we  must  be  born.  This 
increases  difficulties,  not  diminishes  them  ;  hence,  better 
retain  the  water.  Then  only  are  we  true  to  reason,  true 
to  Christ. 

Since,  then,  it  is  only  asserted,  not  proved,  that  the 
term  water  is  figurative ;  since  there  is  no  inherent  neces- 
sity in  the  nature  of  the  case  for  this  construction ;  since  the 
laws  of  figurative  language  do  not  demand  it;  and  since, 
from  such  construdlion,  either  no  sense  at  all  results,  or  one 
which  does  not  better  the  case — since  all  these  things  are 
true,  I  hence  conclude  that  the  term  water  is  construed 
corredlly  only  when  taken  in  its  literal  and  ordinary  ac- 
ceptation. Hence,  when  the  Savior  says,  "  Except  a  man 
be  born  of  water,"  he  means  simply  and  literally  water. 

What,  now,  is  it  to  be  born  of  water  ?  On  this  ques- 
tion I  need  not  dwell  long.  To  be  born  of,  as  already 
conceded,  is  figurative.  Literally,  it  denotes  the  event 
which  brings  us  into  natural  life ;  figuratively,  then,  it 
must  denote  an  event  like  it.  The  two  events  must  re- 
semble each  other  as  type  resembles  impression,  or,  if  not 
so  exaftly,  still  closely.  First,  then,  we  have  water  given ; 
second,  in  this  a  man  is  buried ;  third,  out  of  it  he  emerges. 
Is  not  this  being  born  of  water  ?  If  the  reason  or  the  eye 
may  be  appealed  to  in  any  case  to  settle  either  the  mean- 
ing of  a  word,  or  determine  the  analogy  of  fads,  the  ques- 
tion is  answered.  This  is  being  born  of  water.  But  this 
is  precisely  what  takes  place  in  immersion ;  hence,  I  con- 
clude that,  to  be  born  of  water  and  be  immersed  are  merely 
two  different  names — that  figurative,  this  literal — for  one 
and  the  same  adl. 

A  corroborative  item  or  two,  and  I  am  done  with  the 
first  part  of  my  subjedl.    Water  is  never  present  in  any 


M.  E.  LARD. 


aft  connedled  with  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  except  one. 
But  in  that  a6t  it  is  always  present,  and  never  absent. 
That  a(5l  is  immersion.  But  in  the  expression,  "born  of 
water,",  w^/^T  is  present ;  hence,  it  must  be  in  immersion, 
since  it  can  be  in  nothing  else.  Again,  it  seems  that  to 
be  born  of  water  and  be  immersed  are  identical. 

Christ  is  called  the  first-born  from  the  dead.  This  is 
the  statement  of  a  fad,  and  in  it  occurs  the  word  born. 
The  fadl  is  Christ's  rising  from  the  dead;  hence,  to  arise 
out  of  the  grave  is  to  be  born  from  the  dead.  But  a  man 
is  dead  to  sin,  is  buried  in  the  water,  and  rises  out  of  it. 
if,  now  that  rising  can  be  called  being  born  from  the  dead, 
then  is  this  rising  being  born  of  water.  If,  in  argument, 
analogy  be  worth  any  thing,  it  is  decisive  here. 

If  the  expression,  "born  of  water,"  does  not  signify 
immersion,  its  meaning  is  not  determinate.  Then,  no 
living  man  can  say  whether  he  is  in,  or  not  in,  the  king- 
dom of  God.  But  Christ  has  not  left  us  in  doubt  on  so 
vital  a  point;  hence,  the  expression  must  be  determinate, 
and  signifies  immersion. 

I  here  terminate  my  examination  of  the  clause  "born 
of  water."  The  result  is  submitted  to  the  candid  and 
thoughtful  hearer  only,  but  to  him  with  no  fear  as  to  the 
end. 

I  now  proceed  to  inquire  into  the  meaning  of  the  sec- 
ond division  of  my  subjeft,  namely,  "Born  of  the  Spirit." 
Important  as  has  been  the  discussion  of  the  preceding  di- 
vision, the  discussion  of  this  will  be  generally  felt  to  be 
still  more  so,  and  I  by  no  means  wish  to  diminish  the  just 
interest  which  may  be  felt  in  it. 

I  shall  set  out  with  the  assumption,  new,  perhaps,  to 
many,  that  the  Savior,  after  stating  in  what  the  new  birth 
consists,  then  proceeds  to  explain  so  much  of  it  as  is  em- 
16 


-4- 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


braced  in  the  clause  "born  of  the  Spirit."  One  thing,  at 
least,  will  be  conceded,  that  what  is  here  embraced  was  least 
likely  to  be  understood,  and,  therefore,  stood  most  in  need 
of  explanation.  Upon  the  import  of  the  clause  "born 
of  water"  the  great  Teacher  said  nothing.  Of  this  Nico- 
demus  needed  no  explanation.  As  soon  as  he  learned  from 
the  Savior  that  he  spoke  not  of  a  literal  re-birth,  instantly 
the  meaning  of  the  clause  would  flash  into  his  mind.  He 
would  intuitively  take  the  term  water  literally;  this  done, 
and  the  meaning  of  "born  of"  would  be  at  once  perceived. 
But  not  so  with  the  phrase  "born  of  the  Spirit."  Of  ne- 
cessity all  would  be  dark  here.  Of  being  born  of  the  Spirit, 
or  of  being  begotten  by  it,  he  had  no  means  of  informa- 
tion. To  him  the  subjed:  was  absolutely  new.  Not  one 
incident  of  universal  history  could  shed  a  ray  of  light  on 
it.  In  his  case,  therefore,  an  explanation  was  especially 
necessary.      Hence  the  assumption  that  we  have  one. 

With  what  is  here  last  said,  corresponds,  as  I  deem, 
the  next  verse;  namely,  "  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh 
is  flesh;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit." 
Hardly  can  this  verse  be  held  to  be  free  from  difficulty; 
not  that  its  difficulty  is  insuperable,  but  only  that  it  is 
not  free  from  it.  In  the  expression,  "that  which  is  born 
of  the  flesh  is  flesh,"  we  have  the  statement  of  a  simple 
well-known  matter  of  fad.  In  this  statement  every  word 
is  to  be  taken  literally;  nor  can  any  one  acquainted  with 
the  faft  stated  misunderstand  the  terms  in  which  it  is  ex- 
pressed. Flesh  produces  flesh  literally,  or  the  one  is  the 
offspring  of  the  other.  This  we  know  to  be  so.  But  the 
difficulty  lies  not  here.  It  is  in  the  expression  "  that  which 
is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit; "  or  more  stridlly,  perhaps, 
in  the  parallelism  which  we  draw  between  the  two  expres- 
sions.   In  the  expression  last  cited  the  word  born  is  not 


M.  E.  LARD. 


243 


to  be  taken  literally;  for  in  regeneration  no  personal  spirit 
is  produced;  that  is,  the  Holy  Spirit  does  not  produce  the 
human  spirit  in  the  sense  in  which  flesh  produces  flesh.  In 
regeneration  the  human  spirit  is  only  changed,  not  produced. 
Hence,  in  the  second  expression,  the  word  born  is  not  to 
be  taken  literally  but  figuratively,  as  denoting,  in  general 
terms,  simply  a  change.  Now  the  difficulty,  as  I  conceive, 
lies  here:  In  drawing  the  parallel  we  make  Spirit  stand  to 
spirit  as  flesh  stands  to  flesh,  in  each  case  the  one  produc- 
ing the  other.  Clearly  this  is  wrong.  Certainly  flesh  pro- 
duces flesh;  but  Spirit  only  changes  spirit.  Here  there 
is  no  product,  at  least  no  produdl  of  substantive  spirit. 
Hence  in  the  first  expression  the  word  born  is  to  be  taken 
literally,  but  in  the  second  figuratively.  This  causes,  un- 
less carefully  noticed,  confusion,  and  in  this  we  feel  the 
difficulty.  But  how,  it  may  be  asked,  do  I  know  this,  or 
from  what  do  I  learn  it?  I  answer,  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  case.  In  regeneration  the  human  spirit  already  ex- 
ists; it  is  hence  not  produced.  Consequently  the  differ- 
ence in  the  subjeds  determines  a  diflference  in  the  terms. 

But  on  the  supposition  that  the  Savior  is  now  explain- 
ing so  much  of  the  new  birth  as  relates  to  the  spirit,  this 
is  precisely  what  we  should  exped  him  to  say.  The  word 
born  denotes  a  change.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  agent  who 
eflfefts  this  change:  the  human  spirit  is  the  subjedl  in  which 
it  takes  place.  That  which  is  born  of  Spirit — the  Holy 
Spirit,  is  spirit — the  human  spirit.  The  Holy  Spirit  be- 
gets the  human;  that  is,  effedls  the  change  which  takes 
place  in  it.  The  whole  process  embraces  four  items,  in- 
dicated in  the  four  following  questions:  i.  Who  effeds 
the  change?  1.  What  is  changed?  3.  How  is  the  change 
eflTeded?  4.  In  what  does  it  consist  when  affeded  ?  These 
four  questions  exhaust  the  subjed.    Two  of  them  have 


244 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


now  been  answered — the  Holy  Spirit  efFefts  the  change, 
the  human  spirit  is  changed.  Only  two,  therefore,  remain 
to  be  answered.  Of  these  the  Savior,  in  the  following 
verses,  answers  only  the  third;  namely,  how  is  the  change 
effeded.''  The  fowth  is  not  answered  by  him  in  the  inter- 
view with  Nicodemus,  but  is  answered  elsewhere  in  the 
New  Testament,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  course  of  this 
sermon. 

Here  it  is  proper  to  determine  another  point  before 
proceeding  further.  Should  we  read  born  of  the  Spirit, 
or  begotten  by  it?  This  depends  altogether  on  the  view 
we  are  taking  of  the  matter  in  hand.  If  we  are  viewing 
regeneration  as  completed,  completed  in  both  its  parts, 
completed  in  water,  completed  in  spirit,  then  it  is  proper 
to  say  born  of  the  Spirit;  otherwise  it  obviously  is  not. 
Whenever  the  two  parts  of  the  process  are  viewed  separ- 
ately, then,  clearly,  we  should  say  begotten  by  the  Spirit, 
not  born.  The' Holy  Spirit  begets  the  human,  or,  more 
stridlly,  begets  a  change  in  it,  prepares  it  for  entrance 
into  the  kingdom  of  God.  In  this  preparation,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  agent,  merely  ads  on  the  human  spirit,  changing 
it.  The  human  spirit  is  not  conceived  of  as  coming  out 
of,  or  proceeding  from,  the  Holy  Spirit.  Hence  begot- 
ten, not  born,  is  the  proper  word.  Again :  being  begot- 
ten by  the  Spirit  is  the  first  part  of  the  whole  process  of 
being  born  again.  It  consequently  antecedes  the  other 
part,  being  born  of  water,  and  is  hence  more  corredlly  ex- 
pressed by  begotten  than  born.  Farther:  as  the  word 
born  applies  to  the  last  aft  in  natural  generation,  so  like- 
wise it  applies  to  the  last  ad  in  regeneration.  This  ad, 
in  regeneration,  is  coming  out  of  the  water.  Hence  to  it 
we  should  apply  born,  to  the  other,  begotten.  x\ccord- 
ingly  the  verse  in  hand  would,  perhaps,  be  more  corredly 


M.  E.  LARD. 


rendered:  'That  which  is  begotten  by  the  flesh  is  fleshy  and 
that  which  is  begotten  by  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  This  much 
must  be  corred,  more  than  this  might  not  be;  it  is  hence 
best  to  say  this  much,  no  more.  Certainly,  in  the  fifth 
verse,  we  should  render  the  original  by  born,  thus:  "Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  Here  begotten  is  wholly 
inadmissible,  since  we  can  not  be  begotten  by  water,  but 
must  be  born  of  it.  Again,  it  is  not  by  being  begotten  sim- 
ply that  we  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God;  it  is  by  being 
born.  In  the  fifth  verse  the  word  denotes  the  adl  which 
translates  us  into  the  kingdom.  It  is  hence  the  a6t  of  being 
born,  not  of  being  begotten.  In  the  subsequent  verses, 
however,  where  the  word  occurs,  it  is  best  to  render  it  be- 
gotten.   I  shall  accordingly  do  so,  as  already  in  the  sixth. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  we  are  now  speaking  on  the 
assumption  that  after  the  fifth  verse,  the  Savior  proceeds 
to  explain  how  we  are  begotten  by  the  Spirit.  With  this 
assumption  agrees  the  seventh  verse  more  naturally  than 
with  any  other.  The  verse  reads  :  "  Marvel  not  that  I 
said  to  thee,  ye  must  be  born  again."  When  I  am  speak- 
ing to  a  man,  and  it  is  obvious  to  my  eye  that  he  does 
not  understand  me;  and  I  say  to  him:  Wonder  not  that  I 
should  speak  to  you  thus;  for  what,  most  naturally,  does 
my  remark  prepare  him  ?  for  an  illustration  or  an  explan- 
ation? If  I  have  already  explained  myself,  clearly  it  pre- 
pares him  for  an  illustration.  But  if  not,  then  an  explan- 
ation is  expected.  Now,  in  the  case  in  hand,  the  Savior 
had  submitted  no  explanation.  Most  naturally,  then,  it 
seems  would  his  remark  induce  the  expedlation  of  one.  I 
hence  still  assume  that  the  following  verse  contains  one. 

The  verse  reads  thus:  '''■'The  wind  bloweth  where  it  list- 
eth^  and  thou  hear  est  the  sound  thereof y  but  canst  not  tell  whence 


246 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


//  Cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth ;  so  is  every  one  that  is  bom 
of  the  Spirit.'' 

No  passage  in  the  New  Testament  has  been  so  variously 
and  so  inconsistently  construed  as  this.  Hardly  any  two 
men  understand  it  alike.  Hence  it  is  cited  to  prove  any 
thing  or  nothing,  as  may  happen  to  suit  the  tenets  of  him 
who  uses  it.  Generally,  by  the  parties  of  the  day,  it  is 
held  as  containing  an  illustration  of  the  mystery  of  being 
begotten  by  the  Spirit.  This,  I  conceive  to  be  the  radi- 
cal misconception  which  has  utterly  obscured  the  sense  of 
this  fine  passage.  Without  one  solitary  verbal  mark,  in 
the  original,  indicative  of  an  illustration,  or  the  slightest 
ground  on  which  to  conclude  that  ooe  was  ever  meant,  has 
the  verse  been  assumed  to  be  illustrative,  and  rendered 
accordingly.  A  more  unaccountable  departure  from  some 
of  the  best  established  laws  of  exegesis  than  its  rendering, 
in  some  respedls,  exhibits,  I  have  not  met  with.  And 
long  since,  I  doiibt  not,  would  the  present  rendering  have 
been  utterly  discarded,  had  it  not  contributed  to  foster  a 
deep-seated  error  on  the  subjed:  now  in  hand.  To  any 
one  who  is  bold  enough  to  think  for  himself,  it  is  clear 
that  the  verse,  as  it  now  reads,  has  simply  no  appreciable 
meaning  whatever.  I  shall  hence,  with  no  sort  of  scruple, 
use  whatever  means  may  be  at  command  to  free  it  from 
darkness. 

First,  then,  in  regard  to  the  word  which,  in  our  common 
version,  is  rendered  ^^\uind"  This  word  occurs  in  the 
Greek  New  Testament  three  hundred  and  eighty-six  times. 
In  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  of  these  it  is  rendered 
into  English  either  by  the  term  spirit  or  by  its  equivalent 
ghost.  Once,  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  it  is  rendered 
"life,"  where,  bevond  doubt,  it  should  have  been  ren- 
dered "a  spirit."    But  in  not  a  single  case,  in  the  New  Tes- 


M.  E.  LARD. 


247 


tament,  except  the  verse  in  hand,  is  it  rendered  "wind." 
Now,  in  translating,  one  great  rule  to  be  observed  is  this: 
To  translate  the  same  original  word  uniformly  by  the  same 
equivalent  English  word,  unless  the  sense  forbids  it.  No 
translation  is  deemed  good  which  violates  this  rule,  none 
very  faulty  which  does  not.  Now,  since  the  word  in  hand, 
out  of  three  hundred  and  eighty-six  instances,  is,  in  three 
hundred  and  eighty-four  of  them,  uniformly  rendered  by 
the  word  spirit^  or  by  a  word  of  the  same  meaning,  the  pre- 
sumption in  favor  of  a  similar  rendering,  in  the  two  re- 
maining instances,  is  as  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  to 
two.  And  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  sense  does  not 
forbid  this  rendering,  this  presumption  becomes  an  impe- 
rious necessity.  For  these  reasons,  therefore,  I  render  the 
original  by  the  word  spirit,  understanding  thereby,  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

The  leading  word  thus  rendered,  and  the  whole  verse  is 
literally  translated  thus  :  The  Spirit  breathes  where  it  sees 
fit,  and  you  hear  its  voice,  but  know  not  whence  it  comes  and 
where  it  goes ;  in  this  way  is  every  one  who  is  begotten  by  the 
Spirit. 

On  this  passage,  three  questions  arise,  namely:  What 
a6l  of  the  Spirit  does  the  word  breathe  express?  Is  it  true 
that  we  of  this  day  know  not  whence  the  Spirit  comes,  and 
where  it  goes.^  And  is  the  sense  of  the  last  clause  of  the 
verse  complete  ? 

I.  What  ad  of  the  Spirit  does  the  word  breathe  express  ? 
Be  it  what  it  may,  one  thing  is  clear,  in  the  a6l  something 
is  heard.  This  word,  then,  suggests  a  probable  answer  to 
the  question.  Only  when  the  Spirit  speaks,  do  we  hear  it. 
Speaking,  then,  is  most  likely  the  adl  which  the  word 
breathe  metaphorically  expresses.  With  this,  moreover, 
agrees  the  word  voice.    The  original  of  this  word  is  a  gen- 


248 


THE  LIVLNG  PULPIT. 


eric  term,  expressing  sound  generally;  but,  when  applied 
to  persons,  it  always  denotes  the  voice  heard  in  speaking. 
But,  in  the  present  case,  it  applies  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  a 
person.  Hence,  it  is  legitimate  to  infer  that  it  denotes 
the  voice  of  the  Spirit  heard  in  speaking.  But  this  voice 
is  never  heard,  except  through  prophets  and  apostles.  It 
is  only  when  in  man  that  the  Spirit  speaks  to  him;  hence, 
the  ad:  is  an  adl  of  speaking,  and  the  voice  heard,  the  voice 
of  inspired  men.  Through  these  men  the  Spirit  speaks, 
and,  speaking  thus,  we  hear  its  voice. 

1.  Is  it  true  of  us  in  the  present  day  that  we  know  not 
whence  the  Spirit  comes,  and  where  it  goes,  or  is  the  clause 
applicable  to  us?  1  reply:  The  clause  is  not  applicable  to 
us  of  this  day,  for  the  reason  that,  in  no  intelligible  sense, 
can  it  be  said  of  us  that  we  know  not  the  whence  and  the 
whither  of  the  Spirit.  Indisputably  it  comes  from  God, 
and  is  sent  into  the  saints.  But  this,  though  true  of  us, 
was  not  true  of  Nicodemus.  We  have  light  on  the  point, 
which  he  had  not.  Of  him,  therefore,  the  clause  was  true, 
but  not  of  us.  As  yet,  the  Savior  had  taught  nothing 
respeSing  the  Spirit;  the  apostles  had  taught  nothing,  and 
the  New  Testament  was  not  written.  That,  therefore, 
was  true  of  Nicodemus  at  the  time,  which  is  inapplicable 
to  us,  and  which  ceased  to  be  true  of  him,  if  he  lived,  as 
soon  as  the  Spirit  was  sent.  Hence,  in  construing  the 
verse,  we  must  construe  it  as  all  applicable  to  him,  but 
as  applicable  to  us  only  with  the  clause  in  hand  omitted. 
In  one  view  only  can  the  clause  be  deemed  applicable  to 
us  of  the  present  day.  If  the  Spirit  be  conceived  of  as 
roaming  up  and  down  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  in  some 
occult  manner  unmentioned  in  the  Bible,  and  unintel- 
ligible to  man,  then  may  we  construe  the  clause  of  our- 
selves.   In  any  other  view,  it  must  be  held  as  applying 


M.  E.  LARD. 


249 


only  to  Nicodemus,  and  only  when  applied  to  him  has  it 
any  determinate  meaning.  The  view  of  the  clause  here 
maintained  frees  the  verse  from  at  least  half  the  confusion 
which  lies  on  it.  It  is  presented  as  necessary,  and  as  barely 
disputable,  and  certainly  relieves  a  passage  of  Scripture 
of  no  small  difficulty. 

3.  Is  the  sense  of  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  complete, 
namely,  in  this  way  is  every  one  who  is  begotten  by  the  Spirit? 
That  it  is  not,  is  intuitively  felt  by  every  reader.  Invol- 
untarily, we  ask,  in  what  way?  The  question  implies  the 
incompleteness  of  the  sense;  for,  were  the  sense  complete, 
no  impulse  would  be  felt  to  ask  the  question.  Now,  in 
order  to  render  the  sense  full,  and  to  leave  no  question 
remaining,  we  have  to  use,  in  translating,  one  word  more 
than  is  in  the  original.  Are  we  at  liberty  to  do  this  ? 
Certainly  it  is  often  done;  but  should  it  be  done  here? 
I  believe  it  should ;  and  my  reasons  for  so  believing  are 
concisely  these:  First,  as  already  said,  the  sense  is  incom- 
plete without  the  word.  There  is,  therefore,  a  necessity 
for  it.  Indeed,  without  it  the  verse  is  an  eternal  enigma. 
Second,  to  supply  a  word  not  only  completes  the  sense, 
but  gives  a  sense  in  stridl  accordance  with  what  we  know 
to  be  elsewhere  taught.  In  a  doubtful  case,  these  two 
reasons  for  a  particular  conclusion,  with  none  against  it, 
may  be  generally  accepted  as  decisive.  I,  hence,  decide 
in  favor  of  the  word.  Supplying  it,  and  the  clause  reads 
thus  :  In  this  way  is  begotten  every  one  who  is  begotten  by  the 
Spirit. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  commencing  the  investi- 
gation of  the  second  part  of  my  subjedt,  I  assumed  that 
an  explanation  of  how  we  are  begotten  by  the  Spirit,  was 
contained  in  the  following  verses.  I  am  now  ready  to  show 
that  this  assumption  was  well  taken.    In  order  to  do  this, 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


I  shall  omit  the  clause  herein  held  to  be  inapplicable  to 
us,  merely  that  I  may  present,  in  closer  union,  the  really 
dependent  clauses  of  the  verse.  Omitting,  as  here  said, 
and  the  whole  verse  reads  thus:  T'he  Spirit  breathes  where 
it  sees  fit^  and  you  hear  its  voice ;  in  this  way  is  begotten 
every  one  who  is  begotten  by  toe  Spirit.  How,  then,  is  a 
person  begotten  by  the  Spirit?  By  hearing  its  voice.  Of 
the  truth  of  this,  I  feel  profoundly  convinced,  whether 
the  preceding  premises  necessitate  it  or  not. 

In  confirmation,  however,  of  the  conclusion,  I  cite  the 
two  following  Scriptures. 

1.  "Of  his  [the  Father's]  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the 
word  of  truth!'  But  the  word  of  truth  is  what  we  hear 
from  the  Spirit.  Now,  by  this,  James  affirms  we  are  be- 
gotten. The  preceding  conclusion,  therefore,  is  true. 
That  to  be  begotten  by  the  Father  and  by  the  Spirit  is 
one  and  the  same  begetting,  is  here  taken  for  granted. 

2.  "  Being  begotten  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but 
of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God!'  Here  Peter  de- 
clares, in  so  many  words,  that  we  are  begotten  by  the  word 
of  God.  This  word  is  from  the  Spirit,  and  is  what  we 
hear.    Hence,  by  hearing,  we  are  begotten  again. 

4.  But  when  begotten,  in  what  does  the  change  consist? 
The  following  contains  the  answer:  '■^  Every  one  who  be- 
lieves that  Jesus  is  the  Christy  has  been  begotten  of  God." 
(i  John  V :  i.) 

From  this  passage,  one  of  two  conclusions  indisputably 
results:  Either  to  be  begotten  of  God  is  to  believe,  or  this 
includes  that,  since  every  believer  is  begotten.  It  is  here 
held  that  to  be  begotten  and  to  believe  are  identical. 
Hence,  when  a  person  is  begotten,  the  change  consists  in 
believing  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  Here,  then,  I  end  the 
second  part  of  my  subjedl. 


M.  E.  LARD. 


251 


Finally,  from  all  the  foregoing  premises  and  reasonings, 
I  conclude  that  to  be  "born  of  water"  is  simply  to  be 
immersed;  and  to  be  begotten  by  the  Spirit,  to  believe  in 
Jesus- Christ.  Few  conclusions  of  men  will  ever  rest  on 
safer  grounds,  or  be  better  entitled  to  confidence. 

And  now  to  show,  in  conclusion,  that  when  Christ  says, 
"  He  that  believes  and  is  immersed  shall  be  saved,"  he 
only  asserts,  at  the  close  of  his  earthly  career,  what  he  had, 
at  its  commencement,  asserted  to  Nicodemus  in  different 
language,  I  submit  the  following : 

He  that  believes,  and  is  immersed,  is  saved,  and  is, 
therefore,  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Hence,  he  that  be- 
lieves, and  is  immersed,  is  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 
for,  otherwise,  he  can  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  The 
only  way  to  escape  the  force  of  this  pithy  argument  is  to 
deny  that  he  who  is  saved  is  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  If 
a  man  can  not  be  saved,  and  be  at  the  same  time  out  of 
the  kingdom,  the  argument  is  final. 


t 


JOHN  STEELE  SWEENEY. 


'T^HE  subjedl  of  this  sketch  was  born  near  Liberty,  Kentucky,  September 
4,  1832.  His  father,  G.  E.  Sweeney,  was  of  Irish  descent,  and  a 
Baptist  in  his  younger  days,  but,  "when  he  became  a  man,  he  put  away 
childish  things,"  and  has  since  been  an  earnest  advocate  for  the  primi- 
tive order  of  things.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Campbell, 
was  of  Scotch-Irish  extraftion,  and  was  brought  up  under  Methodist  in- 
fluence, but,  for  more  than  thirty  years,  has  been  a  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church. 

His  parents  were  poor,  and  lived  in  a  country  not  very  well  supplied 
with  good  schools ;  consequently,  his  early  education  was  greatly  neglefted. 
After  he  was  fully  grown,  however,  he  acquired  a  respeftable  education. 

Having  begun  the  study  of  the  law,  he  left  Kentucky,  in  1854,  and  went 
to  Illinois,  where  he  continued  to  prepare  himself  for  his  chosen  profes- 
sion, and,  just  as  the  most  flattering  prospers  were  opening  up  to  him  as 
a  lawyer,  he  became  convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
Afting  under  this  conviftion,  in  1856,  he  entered  aftively  upon  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  and  has  been  constantly  engaged  in  this  calling  ever  since. 
His  labors  have  been  chiefly  confined  to  Illinois,  though  he  has  preached 
considerable  in  Missouri,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky. 
During  this  time,  he  was  located  two  years  in  Chicago,  and  a  little  over 
one,  in  Cincinnati.  Most  of  his  labor  has  been  in  the  general  field,  and 
his  success  there  has  been  all  that  could  be  desired,  having  received  into 
the  Church,  by  immersion,  about  two  thousand  two  hundred  persons. 

With  Methodists,  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  Universalists,  and  Soul-sleep- 
ers, he  has  held  twenty-Jive  public  discussions,  two  or  three  of  which  have 
been  published.  For  one  so  young,  this  is  a  rathcT  pugnacious  record;  but 
when  the  fa£l  is  stated  that  he  has  declined  equally  as  many  discussions 
as  accepted,  and  that  he  never  challenged  nor  sought  debate  but  once  in 
his  life,  we  may  be  inclined  to  alter  our  opinion  somewhat.  He  is  not 
afraid  of  discussion,  but  does  not  seek  it.  He  thinks  that  honest  investi- 
gation is  the  most  certain  way  to  elicit  truth;  hence,  he  has  generally 

(253) 


^54 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


accepted  all  fair  propositions  that  would  be  of  public  interest.  His  de- 
bates have  always  been  largely  attended,  and  have  never  failed  to  gain  new 
trophies  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  His  home  at  present  is  at  Winchester, 
Illinois. 

Brother  Sweeney  has,  in  some  respefts,  a  peculiar  mind.  He  can  not 
be  called  a  hard  student  of  books;  in  faft,  if  you  were  with  him  awhile, 
you  would  think  he  never  studies  them  at  all.  And  yet  his  brain  is 
never  idle.  He  does  not  read  much,  but  he  thinks.  He  is  forever  work- 
ing at  some  problem  in  theological  polemics,  or  arranging  fadls  and  argu- 
ments for  use  in  preaching  the  Gospel;  hence,  his  sermons  abound  in 
apt  and  forcible  illustrations.  His  style  of  preaching  is  well  adapted  to 
the  masses.  Every  argument  is  brought  out  with  the  utmost  clearness, 
and,  however  we  may  be  disposed  to  differ  from  him,  there  is  never  any 
excuse  for  misunderstanding  him. 

While  his  mind  is  eminently  logical,  he  has,  nevertheless,  fine  descrip- 
tive powers,  and  is  capable  of  producing  superior  word  paintings.  He  has 
seen  much  of  the  world,  not  that  he  has  traveled  so  extensively — though 
he  has  traveled  considerable — but  he  has  aftually  experienced  about  what 
is  the  aggregate  of  human  life,  and  this  experience  enables  him  to  form 
very  correft  judgments  of  men  and  things. 

He  is  six  feet  high,  has  dark  hair,  light  hazel  eyes,  and  weighs  about 
one  hundred  and  seventy  pounds.  He  has,  naturally,  a  powerful  physical 
constitution,  though  it  is  somewhat  impaired  by  ill-usage.  He  is  social 
and  fraternal  in  his  intercourse  with  men,  but  somewhat  reticent  as  to  his 
plans  of  life. 


BAPTISM— ITS  ACTION,  SUBJECT,  AND 
DESIGN. 


BY  J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


"Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit." — Matt,  xxvni :  19. 

I PROPOSE,  in  this  discourse,  to  examine  briefly  three 
questions  relating  to  baptism :  i.  What  is  it?    2.  Who 
may  Scripturally  be  baptized.''  and,  3.  What  is  it  for? 

I.  What  is  Baptism  ? 

An  elaborate  argument  of  this  question  is  not  pro- 
posed; a  fair  statement  of  it,  of  the  positions  of  parties 
to  it,  and  of  what  is  claimed  and  what  is  conceded  by  these 
parties,  being  deemed  all-sufiicient  for  the  purpose  sought 
to  be  accomplished. 

The  word  "baptize"  is  not  stridly  English,  but  an 
Anglicised  Greek  word.  What  is  the  meaning  of  this 
word  when  expressed  in  English?  Immersionists  answer  : 
It  means  simply  immerse.  Hence  they  claim  that  bap- 
tism is  immersion;  no  more,  no  less.  On  the  other  hand, 
Pedobaptists,  so-called,  give  the  question  no  definite  an- 
swer at  all,  but  claim  that  immersion,  pouring,  and  sprink- 
ling are  all  equally  valid  '■'■modes  of  baptism,"  and  pj"ad:ice 
accordingly.  They  hence  do  not,  at  the  present  day,  define 
the  word  "baptize"  at  all.    And  how  can  they  do  so,  while 

(255) 


256 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


holding  and  prafticing  as  they  do?  Suppose  they  were  to 
say  it  means  immerse,  what  authority  would  remain  for 
pouring  or  sprinkling?  And  if  they  were  to  say  it  means 
"pour,"  then  what  authority  would  they  have  for  immers- 
ing and  sprinkling?  And  were  they  to  define  it  "sprinkle," 
then  they  would  be  left  without  any  authority  for  immers- 
ing and  pouring.  If,  therefore,  they  define  the  word  "  bap- 
tize" at  all,  they  must  give  it  a  definition  broad  enough  to 
cover  their  entire  pradlice;  and  if  they  define  it  to  mean 
immerse,  pour,  and  sprinkle — and  nothing  short  of  this 
will  cover  their  whole  pra6tice — then  they  would  have  to 
immerse,  pour,  and  sprinkle  a  person  before  they  could 
claim  to  have  him  fully  baptized.  Thus  we  see  why  it  is 
they  never  define  this  word.  This  is  deemed  a  fair  state- 
ment of  the  positions  of  the  parties  to  the  question. 

I  will  next  notice  what  is  claimed  and  what  conceded  in 
the  controversy.  It  is  claimed  by  immersionists,  that,  in 
classic  Greek  literature,  the  word  is  invariably  used  in  the 
sense  of  immerse;  that,  in  every  instance  of  its  occurrence 
in  Greek  literature,  it  must  be  translated  into  immerse, 
or  some  of  its  equivalents,  to  make  sense  of  the  passage 
in  which  it  stands.  "Baptizein;  Its  Meaning  and 
Use,"  a  small  volume,  published  by  the  American  Bible 
Union,  contains,  it  is  claimed  by  the  learned  author  (Dr. 
Conant),  all  the  instances  of  the  occurrence  of  this  word 
in  classic  Greek  literature,  by  an  examination  of  which  the 
English  reader  even  may  satisfy  himself  as  to  its  uniform 
meaning.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  very  generally  conceded 
by  Pedobaptist  scholars  that  the  word  does  usually  have 
this  sense  in  classic  Greek.  They  claim,  however,  that  it 
sometimes  signifies  "wash,"  "dy6,"  "stain,"  etc.  But  in 
classic  Greek  they  never  translate  it  "pour"  or  "sprinkle." 
They  claim  that  in  the  New  Testament  it  is  not  used  in 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


257 


its  classic  sense.  This  is  deemed  a  fair  statement  of  what 
is  claimed,  and  what  conceded,  as  to  the  use  of  the  word. 

The  Greek  lexicons  define  the  word,  very  generally,  in 
accordance  with  its  use,  to  mean  "immerse,"  or  what  is 
equivalent  to  it,  and  very  generally  give  this  as  its  primary 
meaning,  not  one  of  them  ever  defining  it  to  mean  '■'■pour''  or 
'■'■sprinkler  They  do,  however,  it  is  freely  admitted,  give 
"wash,"  "dye,"  "stain,"  as  meanings  of  the  word,  but 
generally  as  secondary  meanings,  some  of  them  being  so 
careful  as  to  say  it  has  such  meanings  only  by  consequence. 
For  example.  Bailey  says:  "Baptism,  in  stridlness  of 
speech,  is  that  kind  of  washing  which  consists  in  dipping, 
and  when  applied  to  the  Christian  institution,  so-called, 
it  was  used  by  the  primitive  Christians  in  no  other  sense 
than  that  of  dipping."*  Alstedius  says:  "Baptism,  to 
baptize,  signifies  only  to  immerse,  not  to  wash,  except  by 
consequence y  '\ 

These  lexicographers  were  Pedobaptists,  and  would  be 
inclined,  of  course,  to  favor  their  own  pradlice  as  far  as 
they  could,  and  preserve  their  honor  and  reputation  as 
scholars;  yet,  when  they  give  wash  as  a  meaning  of  bap- 
tize^ they  are  careful  to  say  it  does  not  have  this  meaning, 
"except  by  consequence."  Baptism  can  only  mean  "that 
kind  of  washing  which  consists  in  dipping."  And  only 
in  this  sense  can  dye,  stain,  soil,  etc.,  be  given  as  mean- 
ings of  the  word.  Any  thing  immersed  may  be  washed, 
dyed,  or  stained,  as  a  consequence  of  the  immersion; 
whether  dyed,  or  washed,  or  stained,  depends  upon  the 
charafter  of  the  element  in  which  the  immersion  is  per- 
formed. By  metonymy,  such  consequences  of  an  adion 
may  be  put  for  the  aftion  itself.     In  this  way  we  often 


*  Diet.,  Dr.  Scott's  ed.,  1772. 
17 


f  Lex.  Theolog.,  p.  221. 


258 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


put  wash,  dye,  stain,  soil,  etc.,  for  the  English  word  dip 
For  example:  when  the  dyer  dips  an  article  into  the  dye, 
we  say  he  dyes  it,  when,  in  stridlness  of  speech,  he  dips  it, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  it  is  dyed.  When,  then,  the  washer 
dips  the  same  article  into  water,  we  say  he  washes  it, 
when,  in  fa6t,  that  it  is  washed  is  only  a  consequence  of 
the  dipping  in  water.  But  shall  we,  therefore,  conclude 
that  wash  is  the  meaning  of  dip  ?  Certainly  not.  So  it 
is  of  baptize,  exadlly.  Wash,  dye,  stain,  etc.,  are  only 
consequential  significatiDns  of  the  word.  It  would  be  a 
wonderful  word,  indeed,  to  mean  primarily  to  wash,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  to  mean  primarily  to  dye,  which  is  pre- 
cisely the  opposite.  These  opposite  ideas  can  only  be  at- 
tached to  the  word  by  metonymy.  But  are  we  to  take  the 
word  baptize  in  the  New  Testament  in  this  secondary  and 
consequential  sense  exclusively?  Or,  shall  we  not  rather^ 
take  it  in  its  primary,  usual,  and  most  known  signification  ? 
We  have  no  special  rule  given  for  the  interpretation  of 
words  in  the  Bible,  nor  have  we  any  intimation  that  this 
word  baptize  is  therein  used  in  any  other  than  its  usual 
and  known  signification;  and  hence,  if  it  is  not  subjed  to 
the  known  and  ordinary  rules  of  interpretation,  the  Bible 
is  more  a  deception  than  a  revelation.  But  we  must  avoid 
this  conclusion;  and  how  shall  we  do  it Simply  by  in- 
terpreting this  word  in  the  ordinary  way.  Let  us,  there- 
fore, read  an  acknowledged  rule  of  interpretation  of  words: 
Sir  William  Blackstone  says:  "Words  of  a  law  are  gener- 
ally to  be  understood  in  their  usual  and  most  known  signifi- 
cation, not  so  much  regarding  the  propriety  of  grammar  as 
th&\r  general  and  popular  use."*  Common  sense  floats  upon 
the  very  surface  of  this  rule.    It  is  one  by  which  all  trans- 


*  Commentaries,  vol.  i,  Introd.,  sec.  ii. 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


lators,  as  well  as  interpreters,  must  be  governed,  the  only  ex- 
ception to  the  rule  being  where  the  circumstances  of  its  use 
imperiously  demand  for  any  word  a  secondary  signification, 
to  preserve  the  sense  and  congruity  of  the  passage  in  which 
the  word  occurs.  As,  therefore,  the  word  baptize  stands  in 
the  New  Testament  without  any  express  qualification,  we 
must  accept  it  in  its  current,  usual,  and  most  known  signi- 
fication— which,  confessedly,  is  immerse — unless  the  sense 
and  congruity  of  the  Scripture  language  are  made  to  suffer. 

Let  us  next  notice  the  New  Testament  use  of  the  word, 
and  see  whether  or  not  the  sense,  propriety,  or  congruity  of 
the  Scripture  language  will  suffer  from  a  literal  translation 
of  it.  In  the  record  of  John's  administration  of  the  rite, 
we  have  the  following  passages  : 

"And  there  went  out  unto  him  all  the  land  of  Judea, 
and  they  of  Jerusalem,  and  were  all  baptized  of  him  in 
the  river  of  Jordan."  (Mark  i:  5.)  "Jesus  came  from 
Nazareth  of  Galilee,  and  was  baptized  of  John  in  Jordan." 
(Matt,  iii:  10.)  "And  Jesus,  when  he  was  baptized,  went 
up  straightway  out  of  the  water."  "And  John  was  bap- 
tizing in  Enon,  near  to  Salim,  because  there  was  much 
water  there."  (John  iii :  23.) 

To  read,  "were  immersed  of  him  in  the  river,"  makes 
good  sense.  Between  this  rendering  of  the  word,  and  the 
fadl  that  the  baptizing  was  done  "  in  the  river,"  there  is 
no  incongruity;  while  to  substitute  either  pour  or  sprinkle 
for  baptize  will  destroy  the  sense  and  congruity  of  the  pas- 
sage. '■^  Poured  in  the  river  ^  of  him" — that  is,  the  people 
were  poured  in  the  river,  of  John — is  rather  an  awkward, 
not  to  say  absurd,  reading.  Again :  to  say  Jesus  "  was 
immersed  in  Jordan,  of  John,"  conveys  sense  to  the  reader; 
and  between  this  reading  and  the  fad  that  Jesus,  "when 
he  was  baptized,  went  up  straightway  out  of  the  water," 


l6o  THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


there  is  no  such  palpable  incongruity  as  is  created  by  the 
substitution  of  either  pour  or  sprinkle.  And,  why  was 
John  "baptizing  in  Enon  ?"  "  Because  there  was  much 
water  there."  For  immersing,  "  much  water"  is  a  neces- 
sity; while,  for  pouring  or  sprinkling,  a  very  little  will 
suffice.  This  circumstance,  then,  to  say  the  least  of  it, 
rather  favors  immersion.  To  evade  this  argument,  it  is 
sometimes  said  by  the  advocates  of  pouring  and  sprink- 
ling that,  doubtless,  the  "much  water"  was  needed  for 
other  purposes  than  that  of  baptizing,  and,  therefore,  it  was 
that  John  was  preaching  there.  But,  evidently,  no  such 
notion  was  in  the  mind  of  the  Spirit.  The  fadt  that  "  there 
was  much  water  there,"  is  given  as  the  reason  why  "John 
was  baptizing  in  Enon,  near  Salim." 

In  the  record  of  the  A5ls  of  the  Apostles  we  have  this  re- 
markably circumstantial  case  given  :  "  And  as  they  [Philip 
and  the  eunuch]  went  on  their  way,  they  came  to  a  certain 
water,  and  the  eunuch  said.  See,  here  is  water,  what  doth 

hinder  me  to  be  baptized  ?  And  they  both  went 

down  into  the  water,  both  Philip  and  the  eunuch,  and  he 
baptized  him,  and  when  they  had  come  up  out  of  the 
water,"  etc.  (Adls  viii:  36—39.) 

Here,  it  is  said,  that  in  order  to  baptize,  they  went  down 
into  the  water,  and  when  the  baptizing  was  performed,  they 
came  up  out  of  the  water.  Do  these  circumstances  of  the 
use  of  "baptize"  demand  for  it  a  secondary  rather  than  its 
usual  signification  ?  Certainly  not.  The  word  " baptize" 
means  immerse,  and  the  circumstances  here  recorded 
strongly  indicate  it.  So  strongly  and  plainly  does  this  lan- 
guage indicate  immersion,  that  we  see  persons  now-a-days 
frequently  go  down  into  the  water  merely  to  sprinkle  a  few 
drops  on  the  face  of  a  candidate.  And  why  should  they 
go  down  into  the  water  for  such  purpose  ?    Who  can  tell } 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


In  Paul's  epistles  we  have  the  following  allusions  to  bap- 
tism, which  imply  immersion  as  clearly  as  any  language 
can:  "Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into 
death."  (Rom.  vi:  4.)  "Buried  with  him  in  baptism, 
wherein  also  ye  are  risen  with  him."  (Col.  ii :  1 2.)  "  Hav- 
ing our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our 
bodies  washed  with  pure  water."  (Heb.  x:22.)  No  hon- 
est person,  though  unlearned,  need  be  in  doubt  as  to  what 
baptism  is  with  these  passages  before  him.  To  substitute 
pouring  or  sprinkling  for  baptism  in  any  one  of  these  pas- 
sages, would  make  the  passage  perfedlly  absurd.  And  can 
persons,  who  have  only  had  a  few  drops  of  water  sprinkled 
on  their  faces,  say,  we  have  had  our  bodies  washed  with  pure 
water.''  Will  pouring  or  sprinkling  answer  the  demands 
of  this  passage  in  Hebrews?  Certainly  not.  Then,  we 
find  that  the  use  of  the  word  in  the  New  Testament,  the 
circumstances  recorded  as  to  the  performance  of  the  rite, 
the  references  to  it  in  the  Epistles,  as  well  as  the  explana- 
tions of  its  significance,  require  its  primary  sense,  and  will 
not  admit  of  a  secondary  one. 

"I  indeed  baptize  you  wifh  water"  is  sometimes  cited 
as  indicating  an  application  of  water  to  the  subjed,  rather 
than  an  immersion  of  the  subjedl  in  water;  but  it  is  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  see  how  any  scholar  can  rely  on  this 
passage  as  favoring  pouring  and  sprinkling.  The  word 
"with,"  in  the  passage,  is  not  a  correal  rendering  of  the 
Greek  word  en,  for  it  can  not  be  denied  that  en  most  usually 
signifies  in.  And  would  it  not  be  much  easier  to  give  it  its 
primary  meaning  in  the  passage,  and  read,  "  I  indeed  bap- 
tize you  in  water,"  than  to  harmonize  all  the  other  passages 
noticed  with  the  idea  of  pouring  and  sprinkling.?  And, 
then,  if  this  does  prove  an  application  of  the  water  to  the 
subjed,  we  can  not  translate  baptize,  pour,  or  sprinkle,  for 


262 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


neither  of  these  is  even  a  secondary  meaning  of  the  word. 
It  is  never  so  translated  or  defined. 

Down  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  it  was  admitted 
by  Pedobaptists  very  generally,  that  baptize  means  im 
merse;  that  our  Lord  instituted  immersion;  that  theapos 
ties  pradiced  it  exclusively;  and  that  the  Church  knew 
nothing  else  for  baptism  till  the  middle  of  the  third  cen- 
tury; and  that  affusion  of  water  for  baptism  was  substi- 
tuted by  the  Church,  in  favor  of  clinics,  and  for  convenience, 
where  the  climate  was  cold  and  water  scarce.  To  all  this 
only  eminent  Pedobaptists  shall  testify.  And  in  the  first 
place,  we  will  hear  one  whose  ecclesiastical  history  is  a  stand- 
ard among  Protestants,  and  who  was  himself  a  Lutheran. 

Dr.  MosHEiM  :  "  The  sacrament  of  baptism  was  ad- 
ministered in  this  [the  first]  century  without  the  public 
assemblies,  in  places  appointed  and  prepared  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  was  performed  by  an  immersion  of  the  whole 
body  in  the  baptismal  font."  *  Also,  speaking  of  baptism 
in  the  second  century,  the  same  author  says :  "  The  persons 
that  were  to  be  baptized,  after  they  had  repeated  the  creed, 
confessed  and  renounced  their  sins,  and  particularly  the 
devil  and  his  pompous  allurements,  were  immersed  under 
water."    So  much  ^or  primitive  practice. 

Dr.  Wall,  author  of  the  "  History  of  Infant  Bap- 
tism," says:  "In  cases  of  sickness,  weakness,  haste,  want 
of  quantity  of  water,  or  such  like  extraordinary  occasions, 
baptism  by  affusion  of  water  on  the  face  was  by  the  an- 
cients counted  sufficient  baptism."  The  do6lor  then  pro- 
ceeds to  give  a  few  of  the  "most  ancient  cases"  of  such 
baptism,  and  gives,  as  the  most  ancient  case,  that  of  No- 
vatian,  who  had  water  poured  upon  him,  on  a  sick  bed, 


*  Eccl.  Hist.,  vol.  I,  p.  46. 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


263 


A  D.  251.  And  this  was  counted  sufficient  baptism  <7«/v 
by  the  Church  at  that  day.^- 

Richard  Baxter  :  "  We  grant  that  baptism,  then,  [in 
primitive  times]  was  by  washing  the  whole  body,  and  did 
not  the  difference  of  our  cold  country  as  to  that  hot  one 
teach  us  to  remember  'I  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sacri- 
fice,' it  should  be  so  here."-f 

Grotius  :  "  The  custom  of  sprinkling  or  pouring  seems 
to  have  prevailed  in  favor  of  those  who  were  dangerously 
ill,  and  were  desirous  of  giving  up  themselves  to  the  Lord, 
whom  others  called  clinics.  See  the  Epistle  of  Cyprian  to 
Magnus."  J 

Perkins  :  "  The  ancient  custom  of  baptizing  was  to  dip, 
and,  as  it  were,  to  dive  all  the  body  of  the  baptized  under 
the  water,  as  may  appear  in  Paul,  Rom.  vi,  and  the  coun- 
cils of  Laodicea  and  Neocesarea;  but  now,  specially  in  cold 
countries,  the  Church  useth  only  to  sprinkle  the  baptized, 
by  reason  of  children's  weakness — for  very  few  of  ripe  years 
are  nowadays  baptized.  We  need  not  much  to  marvel  at  this 
alteration,  seeing  charity  and  necessity  may  dispense  with 
ceremonies  and  mitigate  in  equity  the  sharpness  of  them."  || 

Wesley  explains  Rom.  vi:  3,  "Alluding  to  the  ancient 
manner  of  baptizing  by  immersion."  § 

Next,  that  we  may  have  the  matter  still  more  clearly 
before  us,  we  will  hear  from  a  distinguished  Romanist. 
Speaking  of  "  the  foundation  of  continuing  the  com- 
munion under  one  kind,"  as  he  styled  the  subje<5l,  Bos- 
suET  says:  "  Baptism,  by  immersion,  which  is  as  clearly 

*  See  Wall's  Hist.  Inf.  Bap.,  part  ii,  chap,  ix,  p.  463. 
\  Paraphrase  of  the  New  Testament,  at  Matt,  iii :  6. 
JApud  Poli.  Synopsin,  and  Matt,  iii:  6. 
II  Works,  vol.  \,  p.  74,  edit.  1608. 
§  Notes  on  New  Testament. 


264 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


established  in  Scripture  as  communion  under  the  two  kinds 
can  possibly  be,  has,  nevertheless,  been  changed  into  pour- 
ing, with  as  much  ease  and  as  little  dispute,  as  communion 
under  one  kind  has  been  established.  It  is  a  faft  most 
firmly  believed  by  the  Reformed  (though  some  of  them  at 
this  day  wrangle  about  it)  that  baptism  was  instituted  to  be 
administered  by  f  lunging  the  body  entirely;  that  Jesus  Christ 
received  it  in  this  manner;  that  it  was  thus  performed  by 
his  apostles;  that  the  Scriptures  are  acquainted  with  no 
other  baptism;  that  antiquity  understood  and  practiced  it 
in  this  manner;  and  that  to  baptize  is  to  plunge — these  fadls, 
I  say,  are  unanimously  acknowledged  by  all  the  Reformed 
teachers;  by  the  Reformers  themselves;  by  those  who  best 
understood  the  Greek  language  and  the  ancient  customs 
of  both  Jews  and  Christians;  by  Luther,  by  Melanfthon, 
by  Calvin,  by  Casaubon,  by  Grotius,  with  all  the  rest; 
and  since  their  time,  by  Jurieu,  the  most  ready  to  contra- 
dift  of  all  their  ministers.  Luther  has  even  remarked  that 
this  sacrament  is  called  Tauf^  in  German,  on  account  of 
the  depth;  because  they  plunged  deeply  in  the  water  those 
whom  they  baptized.  If  there  be  in  the  world  a  fa6t  abso- 
lutely certain,  it  is  this.  Yet  it  is  no  less  certain,  that,  with 
all  these  authors,  baptism,  without  immersion,  is  counted 
as  lawful;  and  that  the  Church  properly  retains  the  custom 
of  pouring."* 

What  is  here  so  boldly  and  so  frankly  said  by  this  Ro- 
manist has  been  often  repeated  in  the  faces  of  Protestant 
Pedobaptists,  and  it  remains  for  one  of  them  to  make  a 
respectable  attempt  at  refutation.  It  is  not  strange  that 
they  do  not  attempt  it.  The  entire  history  of  the  Church 
is  against  them.    Their  brethren,  men  of  learning,  such 


*  Hist,  des  Egleses  Protest.,  torn,  ii,  pp.  469,  470. 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


265 


as  those  named  by  this  Romanist,  have  conceded  every 
thing  in  the  controversy. 

Lastly,  we  will  hear  the  testimony  of  English  Episcopa 
Hans.    Only  two  of  them  shall  testify. 

Bishop  Burnet  :  "  We  know  that  the  first  ritual  of  bap- 
tism was  by  going  into  the  waters,  and  being  laid  as  dead 
all  along  in  them;  and  then  the  persons  baptized  were 
raised  up  again,  and  so  they  came  out  of  them.  This  is 
not  only  mentioned  by  St.  Paul,  but  in  two  different  places 
he  gives  a  mystical  signification  of  the  rite;  that  it  signi- 
fied our  being  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism,  and  our  being 
raised  up  with  him  to  a  new  life  :  so  that  the  phrases  of  ris- 
ing with  Christ,  and  of  putting  on  Christ,  as  oft  as  they 
occur,  do  plainly  relate  to  this ;  and  yet,  partly  out  of 
modesty,  partly  in  regard  to  the  tenderness  of  infants,  and 
the  coldness  of  these  climates,  since  such  a  manner  might 
endanger  their  lives,  and  we  know  that  God  loves  mercy 
better  than  sacrifice,  this  form  of  baptizing  is  as  little  used 
by  those  [Pedobaptists]  who  separate  from  us,  as  by  our- 
selves From  all  these  things,  this  inference 

seems  just:  That  according  to  the  pradice  of  those  who 
divide  from  us,  the  Church  must  be  supposed  to  have  au- 
thority to  adjust  the  forms  of  our  religion,  in  those  parts 
of  them  that  are  merely  ritual,  to  the  taste,  to  the  exigen- 
cies and  conveniences  of  the  several  ages  and  climates.*'* 

This  right  reverend  prelate  speaks  forth  boldly  and  un- 
mistakably. He  believes  the  Church  has  power  to  decree 
and  change  ceremonies.  It  was  hence  little  trouble  for 
him  to  defend  pouring  and  sprinkling  for  baptism.  But 
Church  authority  was  his  sole  ground  of  defense.  He  be- 
lieved not  only  that  the  Church  had  the  right  to  make  it. 


*  Discourses  to  the  Clergy,  pp.  281,  282. 


'166 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


but  that  the  change  from  immersion  to  pouring  and  sprink- 
ling was  a  wise  and  prudent  one,  having  respect,  as  it  did,  to 
"modesty,"  "the  tenderness  of  infants,"  "coldness  of  cli- 
mates," the  "danger  to  life,"  and  to  the  fad:  that  "God 
loves  mercy  better  than  sacrifice." 

Mr.  Evans  :  "  There  is  a  confessed  variation  allowed  of 
and  practiced  by  the  generality  of  Dissenters,  both  Presby- 
terians and  Independents,  from  the  institution  and  pradlice 
of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism  ; 
for  they  have  changed  immersion,  or  dipping,  into  asper- 
sion, or  sprinkling,  and  pouring  water  on  the  face.  Bap- 
tism by  immersion,  or  dipping,  is  suitable  to  the  institu- 
tion of  our  Lord,  and  the  praftice  of  the  apostles,  and 
was  by  them  ordained  and  used  to  represent  our  burial 
with  Christ,  a  death  to  sin  and  a  new  birth  into  righteous- 
ness, as  St.  Paul  explains  that  rite."* 

This  testimony — and  it  might  be  tediously  accumu- 
lated— shows  that,  in  the  last  century  even,  there  was  no 
controversy  about  the  institution  of  our  Lord,  or  the  prac- 
tice of  the  apostles.  Then  pouring  and  sprinkling  rested 
confessedly  upon  no  higher  authority  than  that  of  a  fal- 
lible and  corrupt  Church.  Since  such  authority  has  fallen 
into  disrepute,  men  have  begun  to  claim  Scripture  author- 
ity for  the  praftice  of  pouring  and  sprinkling.  Some  have 
made  such  astonishing  progress  as  to  deny  flatly  that  the 
Savior  himself  was  immersed,  or  that  the  apostles  ever 
immersed  any  body;  and  all  this  in  the  face  of  what  we 
have  read  from  their  own  authorities,  as  well  as  from  the 
Scriptures. 

To  conclude  this  question,  we  have  seen  that,  confess- 
edly, the  word  baptize  was  used  by  the  Greeks  in  the  sense 


*  Cases  to  Recover  Dissenters,  vol.  iii,  pp.  105,  106,  3d  edit. 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


267 


of  immerse,  and  never  in  that  of  pour  or  sprinkle;  that 
it  is,  accordingly,  defined  by  the  lexicons  to  mean  immerse, 
not  one  of  them  defining  it  to  mean  pour  or  sprinkle; 
that,  when  it  is  defined  to  mean  wash,  dye,  stain,  etc.,  it 
is  explained  that  it  has  these  meanings  only  by  comequence ; 
that  its  use  in  the  New  Testament  not  only  justifies,  but 
demands  for  it  the  sense  of  immersion  there ;  and,  lastly, 
that,  down  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  it  was  ad- 
mitted by  Pedobaptists  themselves  that  the  word  baptize 
means  immerse;  that  our  Lord  instituted  and  his  apostles 
practiced  only  immersion;  that  pouring  and  sprinkling 
were  substituted  by  the  Church  in  favor  of  clinics,  and,  in 
consideration  of  "modesty,"  the  "tenderness  of  infants" 
and  "  coldness  of  climates,"  quoting  only  for  Divine  au- 
thority that  "God  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice." 
How  far  the  argument,  so  briefly  drawn,  falls  short  of 
demonstration,  let  candid  people  for  themselves  decide. 

II.  Who  may  Scripturally  be  Baptized? 

That  believers  may  properly  be  baptized,  no  one  denies. 
All  parties  that  pradice  baptizing  at  all  are  agreed  that 
believers  may  properly  be  admitted  to  baptism.  But  here 
those  called  Antipedobaptists  stop,  this  being  the  extent 
of  their  affirmation.  Pedobaptists  go  farther,  and  affirm 
that  infants  also  may  scripturally  be  baptized.  Some  of 
them  say  all  infants,  and  some  say  only  infants  of  believ- 
ing parents,  may  properly  be  admitted  to  baptism.  This 
subdivision,  however,  is  one  with  which  we  have  nothing 
to  do.  We  deny  that  any  infant  can  be  scripturally  bap- 
tized. To  the  extent  of  the  difference  on  this  question, 
it  will  be  readily  seen  that  Pedobaptists  are  properly  in 
the  affirmative,  and,  of  course,  the  burden  of  proof  falls 
due  to  them.    How,  then,  can  they  prove  that  infants  of 


-68 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


any  kind  may  scripturally  be  baptized  ?  They  do  not 
claim  that  they  can  prove  it  by  express  precept  or  example 
of  the  Scriptures.  On  this  point,  we  will  hear  what  the 
affirmants  themselves  say. 

Bishop  Burnet:  "There  is  no  express  precept  or  rule 
given  in  the  Scriptures  for  the  baptism  of  infants.""^' 

Dr.  Wall,  speaking  of  John's  baptism,  says:  "There 
is  no  express  mention  of  any  children  baptized  by  him." 
Again,  he  says:  "Among  all  the  persons  recorded  as  bap- 
tized by  the  apostles,  there  is  no  express  mention  of  any 
infants.""!" 

Fuller  :  "  We  do  freely  confess  that  there  is  neither  ex- 
press precept,  nor  precedent,  in  the  New  Testament  for 
the  baptizing  of  infants."  And  the  very  best  this  learned 
divine  could  say  as  to  Divine  authority  for  his  pradlice 
stands  in  these  words  :  "  There  were  many  things  which 
Jesus  did  which  are  not  written,  among  which,  for  aught 
appears  to  the  contrary,  the  baptizing  of  these  infants 
(mentioned  Luke  xviii:  15—17)  might  be  one  of  them. "J 

Martin  Luther :  "It  can  not  be  proved  by  the  sacred 
Scripture  that  infant  baptism  was  instituted  by  Christ,  or 
begun  by  the  first  Christians  after  the  apostles  ;"||  and  scores 
of  such  concessions  of  eminent  men  who  lived  in  Luther's 
time,  before  and  after,  might  be  quoted  ;  but  these  suffi- 
ciently show  that,  whatever  authority  was  then  claimed  for 
the  praftice  of  infant  baptism,  it  was  conceded  that  the 
Scriptures  are  silent  upon  the  subjed.  This  is  still  conceded 
by  the  advocates  of  the  pra6tice.  In  proof  of  this,  let  us 
read,  from  an  article  on  baptism  prepared  by  a  committee 

*  Expos,  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  art.  xxvii. 
■flntrod.  Hist.  Infant  Baptism,  pp.  1-55. 

I  Infant's  Adv.,  pp.  71,  150. 

II  A.  R.'s  Vanity  of  Infant  Baptism,  part  ii,  p.  8. 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


269 


appointed  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  in  i860,  to  take  the  place  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's treatise  on  that  subjedt,  in  the  Dodlrinal  Tradls,  which 
article  is  now  published  with  the  indorsement  of  Confer- 
ence :  "That  there  is  no  such  express  warrant  for  the  bap- 
tism of  infants  [as  for  the  baptism  of  believers]  is  freely 
acknowledged."'''  And  again,  (p.  255,)  this  Trad  says: 
"We  do  not  pretend  to  found  the  right  of  infant  bap- 
tism on  any  supposed  precept  or  example  of  the  Scrip- 
tures which  expressly  declares  that  infants  were,  or  that 
they  should  be  baptized."  Since,  then,  the  advocates  'Vo 
not  pretend  to  found  the  right  of  infant  baptism  on  any 
supposed  precepu  or  example  of  the  Scriptures,"  upon 
what  is  it  founded  ?  What  are  the  grounds  of  it  ?  This 
question  they  may  answer  in  their  own  words.  But  they 
are  far,  very  far,  from  agreement  in  their  answers.  They 
agree  that  the  baptism  of  infants  should  be  retained, 
They  agree  very  generally  as  to  the  profound  silence  of 
the  Bible  on  the  subjed;  but  when  they  come  to  the  rea- 
sons for  the  praftice,  they  go  apart  widely.  We  will  hear 
a  few  of  them  : 

Mr.  Wesley  :  "  As  to  the  grounds  of  it,  if  infants  are 
guilty  of  original  sin,  then  they  are  proper  subje6ls  of 
baptism,  seeing,  in  the  ordinary  way,  they  can  not  be  saved 
unless  this  be  washed  away  by  baptism. "f  So  the  Meth- 
odist Church  believed  and  taught,  up  to  the  year  i860, 
when  they  refused  any  longer  to  publish  and  indorse  Mr. 
Wesley's  treatise.    The  learned 

Mr.  Walker  said  :  "Where  authority  from  the  Scrip- 
ture fails,  \\\^x^  the  custom  of  the  Church  is  to  be  held  as  a  law."\ 

*  Doftrinal  Tracts,  p.  25c 

f  Doftrinal  Trafts,  1832  edit.,  p.  251. 

I  Modern  Plea  for  Infant  Baptism,  p.  221. 


270 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Henry  Ward  Beecher  admits  frankly  that  there  is 
nothing  whatever  said  about  the  practice  of  infant  baptism 
in  the  Bible;  and  also  that  no  legitimate  dedudlions  can 
be  drawn  thence  in  its  favor;  and,  for  authority,  falls  back 
on  what  he  calls  Christian  liberty,"  claiming  that  Chris- 
tians have  a  right  to  pradlice  whatever  experience  has  shown 
to  be  "a  good  thing;"  as,  for  example,  we  put  a  yoke  upon 
oxen,  because  experience  has  shown  it  to  be  a  good 'insti- 
tution. Now,  when  we  consider  that  the  Bible  is  confess- 
edly silent  upon  the  subjed  of  infant  baptism  (it  being 
only  claimed  that  possibly  among  the  unwritten  sayings  of 
our  Lord  some  authority  might  be  found,  for  aught  we 
know  to  the  contrary),  and  that  some  found  the  right  of 
it  upon  the  guilt  of  infants;  others  upon  "the  custom  of 
the  Church;"  and  still  others,  upon  "Christian  liberty;" 
are  we  not  warranted  in  calling  it  simply  a  human  tradition^. 
May  we  not  safely  say  that  it  had  its  origin  in  no  higher 
authority  than  that  of  the  Church,  and  in  a  very  dark 
period  of  its  history  at  that?  Nevertheless,  we  must  con- 
fess it  is  of  great  antiquity,  having  been  pradliced  by  a 
majority  of  professing  Christians  for  perhaps  fifteen  cen- 
turies ;  and,  in  consideration  of  this  fadl,  it  is  certainly 
entitled  to  respedl,  so  far  as  Christians  are  at  liberty  to 
respedl  a  human  tradition  of  this  kind.  Is  it  an  innocent 
tradition?  If  so,  its  innocence  should  go  far  to  shield  it 
from  attack.  We  will  not  require  our  Pedobaptist  friends 
to  prove  that  it  is  "a  good  thing,"  but  only  to  establish 
its  innocence.  But  this  even  remains  to  be  done  to  our 
satisfadlion.  We  know  that  our  Lord  ordained,  and  his 
apostles  commanded,  in  his  name,  that  believers  should  be 
baptized.  But  infant  baptism,  so-called,  stands  in  the 
way  of  this  command.  To  the  extent  of  its  prevalence, 
it  makes  void  the  command  of  the  Lord,  to  believers^  to 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


be  baptized.    This  should  sink  it  forever  in  the  estima- 
tion of  every  Christian.    The  Lord  said:  "Go  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them ;"  "  Go  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature;  he  that  believes  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved." 
And  so  his  apostles  did,  baptizing  none  others  than  be- 
lievers, as  has  been  conceded  by  the  advocates  of  infant 
baptism.    To  our  Lord's  command,  and  to  the  precept 
and  precedent  of  his  apostles,  we  must  be  true.  There- 
fore we  are  bound  to  require  believers  to  be  baptized ;  and 
as  the  tradition  in  question  comes  in  the  way  of  this,  we 
must  oppose  it.    We  say  to  its  advocates,  in  the  language 
of  the  Savior,  "Ye  have  made  the  commandment  of  God 
of  none  effed  by  your  tradition,"  and  we  dare  not  hold 
our  peace.    It  will  not  do  to  tell  us  "  infants  are  guilty 
of  original  sin,  and  must  therefore  be  baptized.    In  the  first 
place,  infants  are  not  guilty  of  original  sin.    But  if  they 
were,  and  baptism  were  necessary  to  their  cleansing,  the 
Lord  would  have  ordained  it  (and  it  would  have  been 
found  among  his  written  sayings),  and  his  apostles  would 
have  pradiced  it.   Nor  will  any  supposed  authority,  among 
the  ''unwritten'  sayings  of  the  Savior  satisfy  us.  Why 
was  it  not  written?    Nor  is  Christian  liberty  sufficient 
ground  for  it.    While  we  gladly  agree  that  Christians  have 
great  liberty,  we  do  not  believe  that  even  they  have  liberty 
to  make  void  the  commandments  of  God,  teaching  for 
dodrine  the  commandments  of  men.    Nor  yet  will  it  si- 
lence us  to  say  that  "where  authority  from  Scripture  fails, 
there  the  custom  of  the  Church  is  to  be  held  as  a  law!'  We 
respeft  antiquity,  but  have  not  sufficient  respeft  for  all  the 
mere  customs  of  the  Church  to  receive  them  as  laws. 

Baptism  is  "  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward 
God."  (i  Pet.  iii:  21.)  But  infants  can  have  no  con- 
science in  baptism.    Therefore  infants  can  not  properly 


272 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


be  baptized.  Whatever  else  may  not  be,  it  is  clear  that 
some  conscience  is  essential  to  baptism.  It  may  be  said, 
"  But  an  infant  could  properly  be  circumcised,  and  why 
not  as  properly  be  baptized  ? "  The  cases  are  not  parallel. 
In  the  former  case,  parents  were  commanded  to  have  their 
children  circumcised;  in  the  latter,  the  obligation  rests 
upon  each  individual  person  to  be  baptized.  Circumcis- 
ion was  a  mark  in  the  flesh  for  the  natural  seed  of  Abraham, 
and  hence  infants  could  receive  it;  while  baptism  is  an  a6t 
of  faith,  having  nothing  to  do  with  the  flesh,  but  with  the 
conscience;  and  hence  infants  can  not  properly  receive  it. 
Paul,  speaking  to  the  Romans  (sixth  chapter)  of  their  bap- 
tism, says:  "Ye  have  obeyed  from  the  heart  that  form  of 
dodlrine  which  was  delivered  you."  But  infants  can  have 
no  heart  in  baptism,  nor  can  they  obey  in  any  sense.  There- 
fore infants  can  not  scripturally  be  baptized.  "If  thou 
believest  with  all  thy  heart,  thou  mayest"  be  baptized,  is 
a  rule  by  which  Christians  must  be  governed  in  admitting 
persons  to  baptism. 

III.  What  is  Baptism  for? 

The  Disciples  teach  that  it  is  for  the  remission  of  sins. 
They  are  the  only  religious  people  among  Protestants 
who,  at  the  present  day,  hold  this  position.  True,  the 
same  is  taught  in  almost  all  the  creeds  and  standard  books 
of  the  popular  parties,  though  disavowed  by  their  press 
and  living  pulpits.  A  few  definitive  remarks,  therefore, 
are  deemed  necessary  in  entering  upon  the  discussion  of 
this  question. 

I.  We  interpret  the  Scripture  phrase,  "for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,"  to  mean  in  order  to  the  remission  of  sins;  and, 
hence,  make  baptism  antecedent  to  remission.  We  do 
not  believe,  as  has  often  been  said  of  us,  that  baptism,  in 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


any  sense,  procures  remission.  It  is  simply  a  condition — a 
condition  precedent  to  remission;  a  condition  because  the 
Lord  has  made  it  so,  by  positive  law.  This  is  the  extent 
and  fullness  of  our  affirmation  on  this  question. 

1.  We  make  a  distindion  between  conversion,  or  what 
is  very  generally  called  regeneration,  and  remission  of  sins. 
Conversion,  as  it  is  popularly  understood,  is  internal,  and 
pertains  to  the  mind  and  heart;  and,  so  far  as  this  is  true, 
it  precedes  baptism.  And  conversion  certainly  does  per- 
tain to  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  converted,  though  not 
wholly.  But  what  is  popularly  called  conversion  and  re- 
generation is  an  internal  work  to  the  converted,  and  pre- 
cedes baptism.  One  is  not  properly  a  subje6l  of  baptism 
till,  in  the  popular  sense,  he  is  converted,  or  regenerated. 
Hence,  the  charge  of  "baptismal  regeneration"  sometimes 
preferred  •  against  us,  is  entirely  without  foundation  in 
truth,  growing  out  of  a  popular  confounding  of  conver- 
sion and  remission  of  sins,  which,  with  us,  are  two  very 
distind  things.  And  that  this  distindion  is  scriptural,  is 
made  obvious  by  these  passages  :  "  Repent  ye,  therefore, 
and  be  converted,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out." 
(Acts  iii :  19.)  "  Lest  at  any  time  they  should  see  with 
their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  should  understand 
with  their  heart,  and  should  be  converted,  and  I  should 
heal  them."  (Matt,  xii :  15.)  The  blotting  out  of  sins  is 
remission,  and  comes  after  conversion.  So,  in  the  other 
passage,  healing  is  remission,  and  comes  after  conversion. 
The  popular  error  of  confounding  conversion  and  remis- 
sion of  sins  together  as  one  thing,  has  caused  much  in- 
justice to  be  done  us  as  a  people.  We  simply  teach  that 
baptism  is  in  order  to,  and,  hence,  a  condition  precedent 
to,  the  remission  of  sins,  remission  being  something  the 
Lord  does  for  the  converted  person. 
18 


274 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


J.  We  teach  that  this  is  so  now,  in  the  Gospel  dispen- 
sation. We  hold  that  the  law  of  pardon,  under  the  Gos- 
pel, went  forth  from  Jerusalem  after  the  ascension  of  the 
Savior  and  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  that  it  was 
jiromulgated  for  the  first  time  by  the  Holy  Spirit,"  through 
Peter,  at  Jerusalem,  on  the  first  Pentecost  after  our  Lord's 
ascension,  as  is  recorded  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  Ads 
of  Apostles.  This  is  in  accordance  with  prophecy,  and 
the  teaching  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles:  "And  it  shall 
come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mount- 
ains, and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills  ;  and  all  nations 
shall  flow  into  it.  And  many  people  shall  go  and  say. 
Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord, 
to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob;  and  he  will  teach  us 
his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths  :  for  out  of  Zion 
shall  go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jeru- 
salem!' (Isaiah  ii :  2,  3.)  That  this  prophecy  relates  to 
the  founding  of  the  kingdom  or  Church  of  Christ,  few, 
if  any,  will  for  a  moment  question.  It  teaches  that  the 
Church  was  to  be  established  "z«  the  last  days;'  that  '''■all 
nations''  were  to  flow  unto  it,  and  that  the  law  was  to  go 
forth  from  Zion,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem." 
And  our  Savior  says  (Luke  xxiv:  46,  47):  "Thus  it  is 
written,  and  thus  it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise 
from  the  dead  the  third  day;  and  that  repentance  and 
remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name  among 
all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem!'  Hence,  he  said  to  his 
apostles,  whom  he  had  commissioned  to  preach  remission 
of  sins  to  all  nations:  "  But  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
until  ye  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high."  There- 
fore, when  the  apostles  were  endued  with  power  from  on 
high  at  Jerusalem,  they  began  first  to  preach  "  repentance 


J.  S.  SWEENEY. 


and  remission  of  sins,"  which  was  for  '■^  all  nations!'  Then 
and  thence  went  forth  the  law  of  the  Lord — the  law  of  the 
New  Institution — from  Jerusalem.  Then  and  there,  "  at 
Jerusalem,"  the  place  of  "  the  beginning,"  in  the  "  last 
days,"  Peter,  directed  by  power  from  on  high,  propounded 
the  law  of  the  New  Institution.  To  heart-pierced  be- 
lievers he  said:  "Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of 
you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, /br  the  remission  of  sins." 
This  was  the  first  promulgation  of  this  law,  which,  be  it 
remembered,  was  for  all  nations.  Now,  the  question  to 
be  determined  is  :  Does  this  language  of  Peter  make 
baptism  a  condition  precedent  to  remission  of  sins?  We 
say  it  does,  and  here  we  will  stand  or  fall.  The  contro- 
versy hinges  on  the  meaning  of  the  ,word  "  for."  We 
say  it  here  means  in  order  to,  while  it  is  contended  by  our 
opponents  that  its  sense  is  because  of.  It  will  be  granted 
that  it  sometimes  has  the  meaning  we  give  it  in  this  case; 
and  we  are  ready  to  admit  that  it  sometimes  means  because 
of.  And  what  is  here  said  of  "for"  may  be  truly  said  of 
the  Greek  word  it  represents.  Then,  can  we  ascertain 
what  the  word  means  in  this  passage?  Happily  for  the 
truth,  there  is  a  circumstance  in  the  case  which  enables  us 
to  determine  this  question.  It  is  this  :  The  relation  which 
"for"  expresses  here  bet\yeen  baptism  and  remission,  is 
the  same  that  repentance  sustains  to  remission,  the  relation 
of  both  to  remission  being  expressed  at  once  by  the  same 
word;  therefore,  that  relation  is  one.  The  law  to  the  be- 
liever is,  "Repent,  and  be  baptized  for  the  remission  of 
sins."  Will  any  one  say  that  we  may  read,  "Repent,  and 
be  baptized  because  of  the  remission  of  sins  ?"  Does  any 
one  believe  in  repentance  because  of  the  remission  of  sins? 
No  one  so  believes.  No  one  so  preaches.  The  relation 
of  repentance  to  remission  is  that  of  a  precedent  to  a  sub- 


276, 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


sequent.  But  the  relation  of  baptism  must  be  the  same,- 
for  it  is  expressed  by  the  same  word,  and  at  the  same  time; 
therefore,  the  relation  of  baptism  to  remission  of  sins  is 
that  of  a  precedent  to  a  subsequent.  This  argument  has 
never  been  met.  We  feel  perfectly  confident  it  never  can 
be.  Thus  far,  our  opponents  have  only  attempted  to 
evade  it,  by  claiming  that,  if  we  allow  that  for  remission 
means  in  order  to  remission,  it  makes  Peter's  teaching  on 
this  occasion  confli6t  with  his  teaching  at  other  times  and 
places,  as  well  as  with  the  teaching  of  Scripture  generally, 
on  this  subjeft.  But  this  has  never  been  shown  to  be 
true. 

Time  will  only  allow  reference  to  be  made  to  some 
other  Scriptures  which  teach  the  same  as  the  one  just  ex- 
amined. 

In  the  commission,  our  Savior  makes  baptism  for  the 
remission  of  sins  in  the  same  sense,  in  these  words  :  ^^He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved.''  By  "saved" 
here,  it  is  very  generally  agreed  that  remission  of  sins  is 
meant,  to  which  the  Savior's  language  evidently  makes 
baptism  a  condition  precedent. 

Arise  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on 
the  name  of  the  Lord."  (Adls  xxii :  16.) 

If  baptism  be  not  a  condition  going  before  remission 
of  sins,  this  passage  becomes  a  puzzle,  and  who  can  tel 
what  it  means  ? 

Baptism  doth  also  now  save  us."  (i  Pet.  iii :  21.)  If 
baptism  is  not  for  the  remission  of  sins,  in  what  sense 
does  it  save  us?" 

Many  other  passages  of  Scripture  might  be  cited  that 
teach  the  same  thing;  but  these  will  suffice  the  candid, 
and  others  can  not  be  reached. 


i 

I 


I 

i 

1 

I 
I 

i 

I 

i 
1 


WINTHROP  HARTLY  HOPSON. 


-iXriNTHROP  HARTLY  HOPSON  was  born  in  Christian  County, 
Kentucky,  April  26,  1823.  His  father,  Dr.  Samuel  Hopson,  vi  as 
born  in  Culpepper  County,  Virginia  ;  his  mother,  Sallie  Clark,  daughter 
of  Captain  John  Clark,  deceased,  of  Calloway  County,  Missouri,  was  born 
in  Hopkinsville,  Kentucky.  His  grandfather,  Colonel  Joseph  Hopson,  was 
an  officer  in  the  Revolution,  under  General  Daniel  Morgan.  His  mother's 
grandfather,  Henry  Clark,  was  a  patriot  brigadier-general  of  North  Caro- 
lina in  the  Revolution  of  '76. 

At  an  unusually  early  age  the  subjeft  of  this  sketch  learned  to  read  and 
write.  He  went  to  the  common  school  of  his  father's  neighborhood  until 
he  was  eight  years  of  age,  when  he  was  sent  to  Bonne  Femme  Academy, 
in  the  adjoining  county  of  Boone.  He  commenced  at  once  the  study  of 
Latin.  With  occasional  intermissions,  he  was  at  school,  from  home,  nine 
consecutive  sessions  of  ten  months. 

Portions  of  1836  and  1837,  he  was  at  school  in  Jacksonville,  Illinois. 
While  there,  he  boarded  in  the  family  of  that  great  reformer,  preacher, 
and  eminent  Christian,  B.  W.  Stone.  Under  his  preaching,  the  evening 
of  the  first  Lord's  day  in  August,  1837,  in  Jacksonville,  the  Doctor  made 
the  good  confession,  and,  the  next  day,  was  immersed  in  a  stream  near  by. 

His  father  had  him  educated  for  the  law,  and  the  Hon.  Edward  Bates, 
of  St.  Louis,  had  agreed  to  take  him  into  his  office  as  a  pupil ;  but,  feeling 
it  to  be  his  duty  to  preach  the  Gospel,  in  1839,  ^'^  home  in  Fulton, 
Calloway  County,  Missouri,  he  delivered  his  first  public  exhortation  to 
sinners.  This  eifort  was  a  decided  success,  and,  from  that  time,  he  con- 
tinued to  exhort  at  all  the  protrafted  meetings  he  attended,  until,  in  1842, 
at  Millersburg,  Missouri,  he  was  regularly  set  apart  to  the  ministry. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  184].,  he  was  married,  in  Gasconade,  Missouri, 
to  Miss  Rebecca  Griswold  Parsons,  and,  in  the  following  February,  his 
father  died.  Having  now  a  wife  and  widowed  mother  to  support,  and 
receiving  a  very  small  salary  for  preaching — the  first  seven  years  of  his 
ministry- yielding  not  over  fifty  dollars  per  year — he  decided  to  commence 
the  study  of  medicine,  with  the  hope  that  he  could  the  better  support  his 

(277) 


278 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


family,  and,  at  the  same  time,  preach  the  gospel.  Accordingly,  in  the 
winter  of  1 846,  he  attended  his  first  course  of  medical  leftures  in  St.  Louis, 
and,  the  next  spring,  began  the  praftice  of  medicine  in  his  own  neighbor- 
hood, in  Osage  County,  within  a  mile  of  the  Gasconade  line. 

In  April,  1847,  his  wife  died,  young  in  years,  but  rich  in  faith  and  good 
works.  He  now  moved  to  Fayette,  Howard  County,  and  preached  for 
the  Church,  at  the  same  time  prafticing  his  profession.  In  the  winter  of 
1847  and  1848,  he  completed  the  course  in  the  Medical  Department  of 
Missouri  University,  in  St.  Louis,  and  received  the  degree  of  M,  D.  The 
subsequent  March,  he  was  married  te  Miss  Caroline  Henly  Gray,  of 
Fulton,  Missouri.  She  died,  September  20,  1849,  in  the  triumphs  of  the 
Christian  faith.  He  now  abandoned  the  praftice  of  medicine  forever,  and 
gave  himself  entirely  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

In  September,  1850,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Ella  Lord  Chappell,  his 
present  wife.  The  next  month,  at  the  State  Meeting  in  Fayette,  he  was 
requested  to  aft  as  Evangelist,  and  in  December  he  commenced  his  work. 

For  seven  years,  he  taught  a  successful  female  school  at  Palmyra.  He 
spent  the  year  1858  traveling  in  Missouri,  Illinois,  and  Kentucky.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1859,  he  held  a  remarkable  protrafted  meeting  in  Cincinnati.  For 
six  weeks  the  interest  was  unparalleled,  and  about  ninety  were  added  to 
the  Church.  In  December,  he  took  charge  of  the  Church  at  Lexington, 
Kentucky,  which  position  he  held  until  April,  1862,  when  he  entered  upon 
the  work  of  an  Evangelist.  He  is  now  located  in  Richmond,  Virginia, 
where  his  labors  are  highly  appreciated,  and  his  success  very  encouraging. 

Dr.  HopsoN  is  six  feet  one  inch  and  a  half  high,  very  ereft,  and  weighs 
about  two  hundred  and  ten  pounds.  He  has  excellent  health,  and  never 
tires  in  preaching  the  Gospel.  He  is  one  of  the  ablest  preachers  among 
the  Disciples.  But  he  is  a  speaker,  not  a  writer;  a  reasoner,  rather  than 
exhorter;  a  good  pastor,  but  better  Evangelist.  He  is  more  than  an  aver- 
age scholar,  and  bis  general  reading  is  quite  extensive,  though  he  is  often 
careless  in  the  seleftion  of  choice  words.  He  aims  to  be  understood,  and, 
in  the  possession  of  a  happy  communicative  talent,  he  has  no  peer.  No 
one  who  listens  can  fail  to  comprehend  him.  Even  in  a  Greek  criticism, 
he  makes  every  thing  plain  to  the  people.  Though  remarkably  dignified 
and  courtly  in  his  bearing,  he  is,  nevertheless,  a  people's  man — they  feel 
that  they  can  understand  him.  In  his  advocacy  of  the  truth,  he  is  bold, 
belligerent,  and  fearless.  He  carries  the  war  right  into  Africa;  conse- 
quently, the  sefts  do  not  love  him.  But  he  is  very  popular  with  both  the 
preachers  and  churches  of  his  own  brethren.  He  is  especially  kind  to 
young  preachers,  and  always  helps  them  in  whatever  way  he  can.  In 
money  matters,  he  is  liberal  to  a  fault,  and  never  turns  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
poor  and  needy, 


BAPTISM  ESSENTIAL  TO  SALVATION. 


BY  W.  H.  HOPSON. 


"And  he  said  unto  them.  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gos- 
pel to  every  creature.  He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved; 
but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."- -Mark  xvi:  15,  16. 

I THINK  that  the  subjed  seledled  for  consideration  in 
this  sermon,  should  be  fairly,  faithfully,  fully  discussed. 
Hitherto,  in  my  opinion,  this  has  not  been  done.  In  the 
"Quarterly,"  "Harbinger,"  and  in  our  other  religious 
papers,  every  doftrine  and  praftice  peculiar  to  the  Disciples 
of  Christ  is  being  subjefted  to  the  most  thoughtful  review. 
This  is  right.  The  pulpit  also  is  engaged,  equally  with 
the  press,  in  this  thorough  reconsideration  of  the  issues 
between  the  Disciples  and  the  opponents  of  "  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus."  This  existing  spirit  of  honest,  earnest, 
searching  inquiry  into  the  teaching  of  the  Christ  and  the 
apostles  on  the  subjed:  of  man's  religious  faith,  obliga- 
tion, and  duty,  as  relates  both  to  the  saint  and  the  sinner, 
is  a  most  praiseworthy  and  hopeful  condition  of  things. 
I  propose,  in  this  discourse,  in  harmony  with  this  com- 
mendable spirit  of  re-investigation  of  the  things  pertain- 
ing to  the  spiritual  interests  of  mankind,  to  contribute 
niy  aid,  in  this  diredion;  and  shall,  therefore,  call  your 
attention  to  the  consideration  of  one  of  the  earlier,  rather 

(279) 


28o 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


than  the  later,  issues  of  the  current  religious  reformatory 
mov^ement. 

Aiming  at  no  display  of  scholarship,  carefully  avoiding 
all  criticism  upon  Greek  particles,  and  making  simply  a 
plain  argument,  in  plain  English,  to  plain,  common-sense 
people,  I  hope  that  the  sermon  will  be  produdlive  of  good 
in  determining  the  precise  conditions  precedent  to  the 
enjoyment  of  forgiveness  on  the  part  of  the  sinner  against 
God'. 

In  order  to  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  argument  on 
the  part  of  the  hearer,  I  deem  a  few  preliminary  explana- 
tory statements  of  high  importance.  There  must  be,  in 
the  discussion  of  the  thing  before  us,  no  dodging  of  the 
precise  issue,  no  misunderstanding  of  terms,  no  confusion 
of  speech.  To  this  end,  a  satisfactory  definition  of  the 
words  used  in  forming  the  proposition  is  necessary,  as 
well  as  a  definite  understanding  of  the  extent  to  which  the 
proposition  reaches.  Before  this  is  done,  let  me  diredt 
your  attention  to  the  law  of  pardon,  as  given  by  the  Sav- 
ior to  his  apostles.  The  statement,  as  recorded  in  Mat- 
thew xxviii:  19,  20,  relates  more  especially  to  the  duties 
of  the  apostles  as  ambassadors  of  the  Christ.  This  I 
shall  designate  the  Apostolic  Commission.  It  reads  thus : 
"All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go 
ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  into 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirt :  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you:  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.  Amen."  This  statement  con- 
tains a  declaration  of  the  Son  of  God  as  to  his  supreme 
authority;  a  command  to  the  apostles  to  teach,  to  baptize, 
and  to  teach  "all  things;"  and  ?l  promise  that  he  would  be 
with  them  "alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  The 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


281 


statements,  as  recorded  by  Mark  xvi :  15,  16,  and  by  Luke 
xxiv:  46,  47,  I  shall  unitize  into  the  following:  "Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 
He  that  believes,  repents,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved; 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  This  form  of  the 
l^ivine  utterance  relates  more  especially  to  the  duties  of 
the  sinner.  It  contains,  it  is  true,  a  command  to  the  apos  - 
tles to  "go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature,"  but,  it  will  be  admitted,  nevertheless,  by 
all,  that  its  main  feature  is  a  di^^xixtt  promise  from  the  Sav- 
ior, through  the  apostles,  of  salvation  to  the  sinner,  upon 
the  sinner's  believing,  repenting,  and  being  baptized.  I 
would,  then,  designate  this  "  The  Savior's  Amnesty  Proc- 
lamation." 

Salvation,  in  the  proposition,  is  equivalent  to  pardon, 
remission  of  sins,  or  forgiveness  of  sins.  "Essential"  is 
that  which  is  not  only  very  important,  but  indispensably 
necessary.  The  proposition  does  not  include  those  who 
have  never^heard  the  Gospel  in  heathen  lands.  It  does 
not  include  infants  or  idiots,  who,  though  they  may  live 
m  a  land  of  Bibles,  where  the  Gospel  is  faithfully  preached, 
are,  by  the  consent  of  all,  intellectually  incompetent  to 
believe  or  be  baptized  of  their  own  free-will  and  accord. 
It  does  include  all  who  hear.  Hear,  in  Biblical  cur- 
rency, includes  both  the  opportunity  and  the  mental  abil- 
ity to  comprehend  the  Gospel.  Responsibility  for  the 
acceptance  or  rejedlion  of  the  amnesty  proclamation  lies 
just  here.  Whatever,  then,  is  declared  in  this  proclama- 
tion to  be  a  sinner's  duty,  in  order  to  salvation  or  remis- 
sion of  sins,  I  hold  to  be  essential  to  that  end.  In  the 
proclamation,  remission  of  sins  is  made  to  depend  upon 
faith,  repentance,  and  baptism  as  equally  conditions  pre- 
cedent, and  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  no  subsequent 


■282 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


declaration  of  the  Savior  or  the  apostles  can  be  found, 
making  a  distinftion  as  to  their  respedive  importance,  and 
distributing  them  into  essential  and  non-essential ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  it  is  certain  that  the  last  utterance  of  the 
Savior  placed  them  in  positive  association  with  each  other, 
and  for  the  same  purpose,  and  that  the  apostles,  in  their 
preaching  under  the  commission,  did,  always  and  every- 
where, in  any  fair  understanding  of  their  discourses,  as 
reported  in  the  A6ls  of  Apostles,  command  their  hearers 
to  believe,  repent,  and  be  baptized,  and  that  they  never, 
in  any  address  to  sinners,  or  in  any  epistle  to  saints,  gave 
the  most  distant  intimation  that  any  one  of  these  three 
conditions  could,  under  any  circumstances,  be  dispensed 
with. 

In  the  light,  then,  of  the  above  fadts,  definitions,  and 
restrictions,  I  affirm  "that  faith,  repentance,  and  baptism 
are  essential  to  salvation."  The  law  of  pardon,  contained 
in  the  statement  of  the  Savior  to  the  apostles  on  sending 
them  into  all  the  world  to  preach  the  Gospel,  is,  in  its 
own  simple  utterances,  so  plain  and  easy  of  comprehen- 
sion, that  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  a  thoughtful 
mind  could  misapprehend  its  teachings.  Faith  and  re- 
pentance are  conceded  by  the  Disciples,  and  by  all  Prot- 
estant sefts,  to  be  essential  to  the  salvation  of  all  who 
come  within  the  provisions  of  the  proclamation.  We  and 
they  agree  that  "saved"  or  "damned"  in  the  proclamation 
applies  to  those,  and  those  only,  who  have  an  opportunity 
to  hear  the  Gospel,  and  who,  in  years  and  in  reason,  have 
the  ability  to  understand  it — to  accept  or  rejed  it.  The 
issue  between  them  and  us  in  the  preaching  of  the  condi- 
tions of  pardon,  as  we  respedively  understand  the  Savior 
to  command  and  to  promise,  is  confined  to  the  question, 
"  Is  baptism  essential  to  salvation  ? "    We  affirm  that  it  is. 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


283 


That  the  law  of  pardon  enjoins  on  the  sinner  faith,  re- 
pentance, and  baptism^  in  order  to  remission  of  sins.  That 
all  this  is  required,  and  that  nothing  short  of  this  will  suf 
fice.  Permit  me  now  to  submit  the  proof,  after  the  above 
lengthy,  but  necessary,  introdudion, 

J .  The  law  of  pardon,  as  above  given,  is  the  first,  the 
last,  and  the  only  anmesty  proclamation  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment offered  to  sinners  by  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  the  only  Savior  of  sinners,  and  to  whom 
belongs  "all  authority  in  heaven  and  upon  the  earth." 
We  are  therefore  shut  up  to  a  compliance  with  its  provis- 
ions as  our  only  hope  of  pardon.  And  should  any  con- 
flidt,  probable  or  real,  between  the  provisions  of  this  law 
and  the  antecedent  statements  of  the  Savior  on  the  sub- 
je6t  of  remission  be  found  (we  admit  none),  even  then 
such  collision  would,  in  no  sense,  invalidate  the  above 
conclusion;  for  it  is  a  well-established  rule  in  legislation, 
both  human  and  divine,  that  the  enadment  of  a  law,  by 
competent  authority,  necessarily  annuls  and  makes  void 
all  previous  existing  laws  at  variance  with  it.  This  rule, 
as  applicable  to  the  law  of  pardon  enadted  by  the  Savior, 
is  most  clearly  substantiated  by  the  very  satisfadlory  ut- 
terance of  the  Apostle  Paul  in  Hebrews  vii:  12,  "For 
the  priesthood  being  changed,  there  is  made  of  necessity 
a  change  of  the  law."  As  the  priesthood  officiates  almost 
exclusively  with  reference  to  an  atonement  and  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,  the  change  in  the  law  must  be  in  reference 
to  the  same  things.  As,  then,  in  the  very  necessity  and 
philosophy  of  things,  the  last  law  repeals  all  laws  pre- 
viously made,  not  in  harmony  with  it,  it  becomes,  in  this 
discussion,  a  matter  of  transcendent  importance  to  ascer- 
tain the  time  when  the  above-mentioned  law  came  into  be- 
ing and  force.    If  it  be  the  last  law  on  the  subjed,  then 


284 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


to  it,  and  to  it  alone,  must  we  look  for  the  conditions  of 
salvation.  When  was  the  commission  given  ?  Not  in  the 
lifetime  of  the  Savior  upon  the  earth,  when  he  was  a  suf- 
fering, sorrowing  sojourner  among  the  sons  of  men ;  not 
in  the  valediftory  address  to  his  Disciples  just  before  "  his 
hour  had  come;  "  not  amid  the  agonies  of  the  Cross;  but, 
after  his  death;  after  his  resurreftion ;  after  he  had  been 
with  the  Apostles  for  forty  days,  "speaking  of  the  things 
pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God,"  and  "opening  their 
understanding  that  they  might  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures,"— after  all  this,  was  the  commission  given.  When, 
then,  is  still  the  question.  The  exa5}  time  must  be  deter- 
mined. Amid  the  solemn  surroundings  of  the  farewell 
scene,  as  the  risen  Savior  turned  to  take  the  last  fond  look 
of  the  beloved  twelve,  who  had  been  his  companions  and 
his  pupils  for  nearly  three  years  and  a  half ;  who,  so  oft, 
had  sat  at  his  feet  and  listened  with  a  breathless  silence 
and  an  enrapt  attention  to  the  words  of  eloquence  and 
truth  that  fell  from  his  lips  of  inspiration;  and  who,  in 
wonder  and  astonishment,  had  witnessed  the  stupendous 
miracles  performed  by  him  in  attestation  that  he  was  the 
Christ — then,  precisely  then — amid  the  crushing  sorrow  of 
that  parting  hour,  just  as  he  was  about  to  ascend  out  of 
their  sight  through  the  clouds  into  heaven,  to  be  coro- 
nated King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords — he  said  to  them  : 
"Go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature.  He  that  believes  and  is  bapticed  shall  be  saved; 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned." 

II.  What  has  just  been  shown  to  be  the  last  law  of  par- 
don Jesus  gave,  is  also  the  first  one  he  ever  gave  as  Lord 
of  all,  under  the  New  Testament  dispensation.  Before 
his  resurredlion,  the  Savior  himself  tells  us  that  he  spoke 
and  aded  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  his  Father. 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


285 


"Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,"  was  his  valedi61:ory  in  leav- 
ing the  heavens  to  come  to  earth ;  and  "  Know  you  not 
that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's  business,"  is  his  first 
recorded  declaration  on  the  earth.  Now  the  Crucified 
One  is  crowned  King,  clothed  with  supreme  power,  and 
the  scepter  of  authority  is  passed  over  into  his  hand. 
Now,  he  makes  laws  in  his  own  right  as  Sovereign  of  the 
heaven  and  the  earth.  The  first  exercise  of  authority  un- 
der his  reign  as  absolute  monarch,  was  to  enadl  the  condi- 
tional amnesty  above  mentioned,  and  to  commission  the 
apostles  to  proclaim  it  to  every  creature,  "among  all  na- 
tions, even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  This  law,  then, 
both  the  first  and  the  last  on  the  subjedt,  is  binding,  in  all 
its  provisions,  and  as  long  as  the  Christian  dispensation 
shall  last. 

III.  This  law  is  certainly  the  only  one  in  the  New 
Testament  that  offers  pardon,  on  any  terms,  to  a  Gentile 
as  such — the  first  one,  perhaps,  in  the  Bible,  since  the  elec- 
tion of  Abraham,  and  the  seleftion  of  his  posterity  to  be 
the  children  of  God.  Hitherto,  a  Gentile  could  only  be 
in  "covenant  relationship"  with  God  by  becoming  a  Jew 
by  adoption,  through  circumcision.  The  Savior,  while  a 
teacher  on  the  earth,  notwithstanding  his  great  loving  heart, 
confined  his  instrudion  to  the  "  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel."  The  Gentiles  were  never  personally  included, 
and,  if  he  taught  them  or  blessed  them  in  performing  upon 
them  some  miracle  of  healing,  he  did  it  under  protest, 
saying:  "It  is  not  lawful  to  take  the  children's  bread  and 
give  It  unto  dogs."  When  the  Savior  sent  out  the  sev- 
enty and  the  twelve  on  their  first  mission,  he  positively  re- 
stridled  their  preaching  to  the  Jews.  Their  commission, 
as  recorded  in  Matt,  x,  reads  thus,  so  far  as  it  pertains  to 
the  point  before  us  :  "  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the  Gen- 


286 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


tiles,  and  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans  enter  ye  not: 
but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel." 
But  now  Jesus  is  King,  and  "  the  fullness  of  the  time"  for 
the  coming  in  of  the  Gentiles  has  come,  and  the  blessed 
Savior  gives  the  apostles  a  new,  and  enlarged,  and  final 
commission:  "Go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gos- 
pel to  every  creature."  Go  to  Jerusalem,  to  Samaria,  and 
to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  and  preach  "  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  the  Christ."  Go  wherever  there  is  a 
mind  to  think,  a  heart  to  feel,  a  soul  to  save,  and  tell 
"the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  people" — salvation 
from  sin,  its  guilt  and  power,  on  the  terms  of  this  proc- 
lamation. Go,  tell  the  people  of  every  mountain  and  val- 
ley, every  hill  and  dale,  every  continent  and  isle  of  the 
seas,  of  every  tribe  and  tongue,  that  peace,  pardon,  and 
joy  are  offered  to  every  baptized,  penitent  believer,  through 
the  atoning  blood  of  the  once  crucified,  but  now  coronated 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Savior  of  sinners. 

Dear  friends,  most,  if  not  all  of  you,  are  Gentiles;  and 
should  you  not  rejoice  that,  at  length,  "  God  has  granted 
to  the  Gentiles  repentance  unto  life;"  and  as  this  is,  be- 
yond all  doubt,  the  only  law  of  pardon  in  which  you  have 
ever  personally  been  included,  is  it  not  of  paramount  im- 
portance to  you  to  embrace  it?  and  will  it  not  imperil 
your  soul's  salvation  to  negle6l  it,  in  whole  or  in  part  ? 

Thus  far,  in  the  investigation,  we  have  found  that  the 
commission  contains  the  first  law  of  pardon  enadted  by 
the  authority  of  the  Christ;  that  it  is  the  only  one  per- 
sonally addressed  to  Gentile  sinners;  that  it  is  the  last 
law  given  by  Divine  authority  on  the  subjedt  of  pardon, 
and,  consequently,  all  previously  existing  ones  are  re- 
pealed; that  its  provisions,  or  terms,  are  faith,  repentance, 
and  baptism  ;  and  that  this'  law,  neither  more  nor  less,  is 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


287 


CO  be  proclaimed,  in  all  time,  among  all  nations,  to  every 
creature.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  sinner's  only 
hope  of  salvation,  so  far  as  obedience  is  necessary  at  all, 
is  to  be  found  in  full  compliance  with  the  provisions  of 
this  enadment.  Jesus  is  the  only  atoning  lamb,  and,  as 
such,  if  we  despise  and  neglect  him,  "there  remaineth  no 
other  offering  for  sin ;"  so,  is  this  the  only  law  of  pardon  to 
sinners,  and,  if  they  negled  and  despise  //,  there  remain- 
eth no  other  law  by  which  they  can  be  saved;  for  of  Jesus 
alone  can  it  be  truthfully  said:  "Thou  hast  the  words  of 
eternal  life."  May  every  sinner  ponder  well  Peter's  query : 
"  To  whom  shall  we  go,  if  we  leave  thee  ?" 

IV.  The  great  commission  contains  the  New  Testament 
statutory  law  with  reference  to  the  pardon  of  rebel  sinners. 
It  is  charadteristic  of  statutory  law  that  all  its  provisions 
are  expressed,  that  none  are  implied;  that  to  it  nothing  is 
to  be  added,  from  it  nothing  to  be  taken  away;  that  to  the 
enjoyment  of  any  blessing  promised  therein,  upon  certain 
conditions,  full  compliance  therewith  is  invariably  re- 
quired. Non-compliance  with  any  one  of  them  will  work 
deprivation.  For  instance,  the  statutory  law  governing 
the  eleftive  franchise  in  some  of  the  States  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union  grants  this  political  privilege  to  one  who  is 
"white,  free,  a  male,  a  citizen,  and  twenty-one  years  of 
age."  The  matter  for  thought  is  not,  whether  the  law  be 
good,  bad,  or  indifferent.  We  might  raise  the  questions: 
Have  not  women  the  right  to  vote  as  well  as  men.?  the 
negro  as  well  as  the  white  man a  boy  at  eighteen  years  of 
age  as  well  as  one  of  twenty-one?  The  simple  question 
however,  is,  "What  sayeth  the  law?"  Who  has  the  right 
to  vote?  I  answer:  He,  and  he  only,  who  has  the  five 
qualifications  mentioned  in  the  statute.  Were  they  five 
times  five,  the  argument  would  be  the  same.    This  law. 


288 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


when  enafted,  repeals  all  others  inconsistent  with  it.  It 
is  absolutely  binding,  in  its  every  provision,  until  it  is 
itself  repealed.  The  voter,  under  it,  must  have  all  the 
(|ualifications ;  the  non-possession  of  any  one  of  them 
will  constitute  disqualification.  The  subjedl  of  the  law, 
having  them  all,  can  not  be  refused  the  privilege  of 
voting;  lacking  one  qualification,  the  privilege,  according 
to  the  law,  can  not  be  allowed  him,  for  the  provisions 
are  all  equally  essential.  The  application  is  easy.  The 
Savior,  in  his  wisdom  and  goodness — and  all  his  adts 
are  both  wise  and  good — has  seen  fit  to  suspend  the  for- 
giveness of  the  sinner  upon  the  three  conditions.  Faith, 
Repentance,  and  Baptism.  A  full  compliance  is  necessary 
to  salvation,  according  to  the  statute  governing  the  case. 
The  willful  negled:  of  a  solitary  condition  will  work 
deprivation  of  the  blessing  sought.  These  three  condi- 
tions are  in  the  law.  The  promise  is  made  to  depend 
upon  full  obedience  to  the  three.  They  equally  possess 
the  element  of  a  condition  precedent,  and,  in  this  sense,  are 
equally  essential.  He,  therefore,  who  willfully  negledls 
compliance  with  any  one  of  these  simple  and  easy  condi- 
tions, can  not  be  saved.  He  who  fully  complies,  is  saved, 
if  confidence  can  be  placed  in  the  declaratory  promise  of 
the  Savior.  Who  dare  doubt  his  word?  who  question  his 
veracity?  Let  the  sinner,  then,  joyfully  accept  the  par- 
don on  the  offered  terms.  Let  him  tremble  at  the  enor- 
mous wickedness  of  even  the  thought  of  "striking  out" 
or  "inserting"  here.  "What  God  hath  joined  together 
let  not  man  put  asunder,"  though  spoken  in  reference  to 
marriage,  is,  nevertheless,  an  enaftment  applying  to  every 
Divine  institution,  so  far  as  the  sacredness  of  the  tie  is  con- 
cerned. The  last  command  of  Jesus,  given  in  person,  was 
a  command  to  the  apostles  to  olFer  salvation  to  the  bap- 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


289 


tized  penitent  believer;  his  last  command,  by  inspiration, 
is  a  command  inhibiting  us  from  "adding  to,  or  taking 
from,  the  words  of  this  book."  He,  then,  that  strikes  out 
faith  or  baptism  from  this  law  of  pardon,  contemns  the 
authority  of  Christ,  and  repudiates  the  last  command  he 
ever  gave  in  person,  and  the  last  one  he  gave  by  the  Holy 
Spirit;  indeed,  the  very  last  Divine  command  given  to 
man  in  the  Bible.  Can  such  a  man  be  saved?  If  so,  who 
need  fear  being  lost? 

V.  In  discussing  the  law  of  pardon,  it  is  both  pertinent 
and  appropriate  now  to  inquire.  What  is  law — law  itself? 
We  have  sound  enough  definitions  of  law  as  to  physics, 
metaphysics,  and  ethics;  but  these  do  not  apply  here.  In 
human  government,  a  law  is  defined  to  be  a  rule  of  human 
adion.  I  accept  this  as  corredl,  so  far  as  it  goes.  But  it 
is  a  definition  informing  us  only  of  what  law  is  as  it  relates 
to  the  party  under  law.  What  is  it  in  reference  to  the  Su- 
preme power  that  ordains  it?  I  answer,  it  is  will.  Law, 
written  or  spoken,  is  an  expression  of  sovereign  will.  A 
rule  of  adlion,  prescribed  by  legitimate  authority,  is  a 
duty — an  aft  due  to  the  authority  that  rules  and  reigns. 
Law  is,  then,  will^  in  the  diredion  of  the  lawgiver;  duty^ 
as  to  the  subjedl.  This  will,  this  duty,  is  expressed  in  a 
command,  an  enadlment,  or  a  law.  A  father  commands 
his  son,  a  master  commands  his  servant,  to  do  a  certain 
thing;  that. command  is  law;  that  law  expresses  the  will 
of  the  father  or  master,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  the  duty 
of  the  son  or  servant.  The  law  of  God  is  the  will  of  God ; 
to  do  his  will,  when  he  commands,  is  our  duty.  If  he 
commands  us  to  do  any  thing,  he  wills  us  to  do  that  thing. 
If  he  commands  us  to  refrain  from  a  certain  thing,  he  wills 
us  to  refrain.  The  New  Testament  doctrine  or  enadlments 
is  called  "The  perfeft  Law  of  Liberty."  Perfedl  is  that 
19 


290 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


to  which  nothing  requisite  is  wanting.  The  New  Testa- 
ment reveals  the  whole  will  of  God  concerning  us.  Our 
every  religious  duty  is  laid  down  in  it.  In  the  revela- 
tion there  is  nothing  wanting.  To  be  a  dutiful  child  of 
God  one  must  do  the  will  of  God.  In  each  and  every 
command  of  God  he  finds  that  will  expressed.  "  Not 
every  one  that.saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my 
Father,  who  is  in  heaven."  Does  not  the  Savior  com- 
mand us  to  be  baptized?  Is  not  the  giving  of  the  com- 
mand an  unmistakable  declaration  of  his  will  ?  Is  not 
obedience  to  him  our  imperative  duty?  Baptism,  then,  is 
indispensably  necessary  to  salvation.  If  not,  then  a  man 
can  be  saved  who  refuses  to  obey  the  com'mandment  of 
his  Lord,  who  persistently  and  contemptuously  negledls  a 
known  duty,  who  proudly  slights  and  despises  the  clearly- 
expressed  will'of  Jesus,  The  whole  conduft  and  animus 
of  such  a  man  (adls,  it  is  said,  speak  louder  than  words) 
is  an  emphatic  utterance  of — "  Savior,  not  thy  will,  but 
mine  be  done."  Such  a  man  can  not  be  saved;  his  heart 
is  full  of  rebellion;  "he  is  led  captive  by  Satan  at  his  own 
will;"  "his  sins  are  open  beforehand,  going  to  judgment." 
Argument,  scriptural  authority,  the  will  of  Jesus  can  not 
influence  him.  "Ephraim  is  joined  to  his  idols,  let  him 
alone." 

VI.  No  law  of  pardon,  enaded  by  Divine  authority, 
in  any  religion,  Patriarchal,  Jewish,  or  Christian,  can  be 
found,  which  does  not  contain,  as  a  constituent  element, 
a  positive  institution.  Baptism  is  the  positive  institu- 
tion, which  occupies  this  place,  in  the  law  of  pardon,  un- 
der the  Christian  dispensation,  and  the  only  one  among 
the  positive  enactments  of  the  Savior  that  can  sustain  this 
important  relation.    Positive  law  is,  among  Christians, 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


291 


a  stereotyped  form  of  expression,  including  all  command- 
ments that  relate  to  ceremonies,  forms,  ordinances,  etc. 
Theologians  distribute  the  law  of  God  into  positive  and 
moral.  A  better  distribution  would  be,  soberness;  duty 
to  one's  self;  rightecrusness,  duty  to  your  fellow  man  ; 
godliness,  duty  to  God.  But  I  accept  the  first,  on  account 
of  its  universality,  and  the  familiarity  of  my  readers  with 
the  thought.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  define  and  to  dis- 
tinguish these  with  exaftness.  I  will  do  my  best  to  make 
the  di<¥erence  prominent  and  perceptible,  A  moral  law  is 
intuitively  right,  right  in  itself — grows  out  of  our  rela- 
tions to  our  fellow  men ;  our  obedience  to  it  proves  our 
love  for  each  other;  between  it  and  its  results  there  is  emi- 
nent fitness,  as  of  cause  to  effedt. 

Positive  law  is  right,  because  it  is  an  expression  of  the 
will  of  the  authority  that  enads  it — grows  out  of  our  rela- 
tion to  God;  between  it  and  the  end  to  be  gained  there 
is  the  absence  of  appreciable  adaptedness;  obedience  to  it 
is  proof  of  our  loyalty  and  love,  of  our  reverence  and 
respedl  for  the  lawgiver. 

The  non-essentiality  of  baptism  to  salvation  is  the 
outgrowth  of  the  following  infidel  sentiment,  common  to 
rhe  religious  seds  of  the  day:  "  If  a  man  obeys  the  moral 
law,  it  is  somewhat  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  the 
positive  law  is  obeyed  or  not."  I  objedt  to  this.  I  most 
Rtoutly  protest.  It  is  absurd,  it  is  false,  it  is  wicked.  A 
moral  law  is  duty  to  our  fellow  man.  Positive  law  is 
duty  to  God.  Are  we  prepared,  then,  to  admit  (and  we 
must  so  admit  if  the  above  proposition  be  true),  that  in 
order  to  salvation,  it  is  essential  to  discharge  the  duties 
prowing  out  of  our  relations  to  man;  but,  it  is  indifferent 
38  to  our  salvation,  whether  we  do,  or  do  not,  comply 
>vith  the  obligations  growing  out  of  our  relation  to  God? 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


As  our  relation  to  God  is  the  higher  relation,  our  duty  to 
him  is  the  higher  duty.  Adam  in  Eden  was  subjefted  to 
the  operation  of  two  laws.  He  was  the  husband  of  Eve, 
must  love  her,  and,  in  proof,  treat  her  kindly.  But  as 
creature,  he  was  subordinate  to  the  creator,  God — must 
love  and  honor  him,  and,  in  proof,  abstain  from  the  pro- 
hibited fruit.  He  obeyed  the  moral  law  in  spirit  and  in 
letter,  but  he  disobeyed  the  positive  law,  knowingly  and 
willfully.  The  result  we  know.  "Original  sin,"  that 
resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  our  first  parents  from  their 
Edenic  home,  and  from  the  presence  of  God,  by  which 
man  was  shorn  of  his  glory,  and  which  sin  "brought  death 
into  the  world,  and  all  our  woe,"  which  led  to  the  after- 
sorrow,  sufferings  and  sacrifice  of  Jesus,  was  no  more,  no 
less,  than  an  a£i  of  disobedience  to  a  positive  law,  committed, 
too,  by  one  whose  obedience  to  the  moral  law  was  faultless  and 
perfeSl.  "To  obey  God  rather  than  man,"  is  the  doc- 
trine of  both  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  It  is  the 
duty  of  a  man  to  do  the  whole  will  of  God  as  far  as  "lieth 
in  him" — his  will,  in  moral  obligations — his  will,  in  posi- 
tive enadlments.  He  must  obey  God  in  both.  But,  if 
in  the  history  of  a  human  life,  it  should  occur,  that  a  man 
is  commanded  of  God  to  perform  a  positive  obedience, 
that  direftly  conflifts  with  the  moral  law,  instead  of  neg- 
lecting the  positive,  and  complying  with  the  moral,  require- 
ment, duty  demands  that  he  negledl  the  moral,  and  com- 
ply with  the  positive,  enadment.  We  feel,  in  our  hearts, 
that  such  an  occurrence,  in  the  Divine  legislation,  must 
be  rare.  Such  instance  did  occur  in  the  history  of  Abra- 
ham. "  Thou  shall  not  kill"  is  a  moral  law,  in  stridt  har- 
mony with  all  the  definitions  of  it  given  above.  "Take 
thy  son,  thine  only  son  Isaac,  and  sacrifice  him  to  me,"  etc., 
is  a  positive  law.    "  God  tried  Abraham."    Positive  in- 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


stitutions  are  tests  of  faith.  God  tries  us  by  and  through 
them.  Shall  we  "  be  found  wanting  V  Abraham's  trial  was 
severe,  but  he  "staggered  not  in  unbelief."  The  will  of 
God  was  his  will.  He  obeyed,  and  became  the  friend  of 
God,  and  the  father  of  the  faithful.  They  who,  like  him, 
are  full  of  faith,  will  not  speak  slightingly  of  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  Lord,  but  will  "walk  in  them,  blameless." 

The  proof  of  our  faith  in  Christ,  and  of  our  loyalty  to 
him,  is  found  in  an  honest,  cheerful,  willing  obedience  to 
his  positive  institutions.  They  are  proofs  of  faith,  because, 
seeing  no  fitness  between  the  thing  done  and  the  blessing 
promised,  the  obedient  man,  of  necessity,  "walks  by  faith, 
not  by  sight;"  and,  from  the  same  inability  to  appreciate 
adaptedness,  it  is  a  proof  of  loyalty,  his  only  reason  for 
obedience  being :  "  The  Lord  commands ;  I  love  and 
honor  him;  I  will  gladly,  joyfully  please  him  in  doing  his 
will." 

A  man  may  obey  God  in  every  moral  duty,  (if  such 
obedience  be  possible,)  and  give  no  proof  by  it  to  heaven 
or  earth  that  he  believes  in  God,  or  loves  him.  Who  is 
it  that  loves  God?  Who  is  a  Christian.?  We  speak  now 
of  honest  men,  not  of  hypocrites.  Sele6t  your  best  man 
in  the  Church,  and  test  him  by  the  moral  law,  and  you 
will  never  find  the  proof  sought.  What  can  you  say  of 
him?  He  is  an  honest  man;  pays  his  debts;  does  not 
lie,  nor  steal,  nor  murder ;  does  not  blaspheme  God,  nor 
gamble,  nor  get  drunk  ;  is  kind  to  his  aged  parents,  to  his 
wife,  his  children  ;  is  benevolent  to  the  poor ;  visits  the 
sick,  etc.  Does  that  prove  his  faith  in  God?  Can  not  all 
this  be  predicated  of  many  men  of  your  acquaintance  who 
do  not  profess  faith  in  Christ,  or  love  to  God  ?  It,  then, 
proves  too  much;  therefore,  it  proves  nothing  at  all.  But 
when  you  say  of  a  man,  he  was  baptized,  he  prays,  he 


294 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


observes  the  Lord's  day,  he  regularly  celebrates  the  Lord's 
Supper,  you  have  entered  the  region  of  proper  proof. 
These  are  positive  institutions,  and  God's  own  ordained 
tests  of  the  faith,  love,  and  loyalty  of  his  people.  That, 
in  all  ages,  they  have  been  such  tests,  is  easily  shown 
from  the  Bible;  and  that  parties  were  blessed  or  punished 
as  they  proved  faithful  or  faithless  when  thus  tested,  is 
equally  true.  The  throwing  down  of  the  walls  of  Jer- 
icho, by  the  blowing  of  ram's  horns  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  and  by  marchings  around  the  walls  ;  the  healing 
of  the  Syrian  leper,  Naaman,  by  "dipping  himself  seven 
times  in  the  Jordan;"  and  the  cure  of  the  blind  man  "  by 
washing  in  Bethesda,"  is  each  a  superlative  proof  of 
faith  in  these  obedient  parties.  To  the  sinner  believing 
in  Jesus,  deeply  convi6ted  of  his  guilt,  mourning  over 
his  sins,  and  truly  repenting  of  them,  baptism  is  ordained 
to  be  precisely  such  a  test.  How  could  the  things  done 
produce  the  above-mentioned  results  ?  How  can  bap- 
tism wash  away  sins  ?  "  Stagger  not  in  unbelief.  Walk 
by  faith,  not  by  sight."  Adam  lost  Eden  and  the  favor 
of  God,  Saul  his  kingdom,  and  Uzzah  his  life,  in  dis- 
obeying the  positive  laws  of  God.  In  obedience  to  one, 
Abraham  became  the  friend  of  God ;  and  Jesus,  the  sec- 
ond Adam,  was  acknowledged  of  the  Father  as  "  my  well- 
beloved  Son."  In  conclusion,  the  truth  seems  to  be  this: 
We  are  commanded  to  live  "  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly."  This  command  is  addressed  to  the  Church,  but 
applies  to  the  sinner  in  principle.  Godliness  or  righteous- 
ness, in  their  broader  meaning,  include  the  whole  of  our 
religious  obligation.  In  their  narrowest  meaning,  as  here, 
they  include  singly  but  a  part.  Soberness  (as  eating, 
drinking,  etc.,)  consists  of  that  class  of  duties  whose  ope- 
ration is  upon  one's  self.    Righteousness — that  class  of 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


duties  that  affed  our  neighbor,  as,  "Thou  shalt  not  He, 
bear  false-witness,"  etc.  Godliness — to  those  duties  that 
grow  alone  out  of  our  relation  to  God,  baptism.  Lord's 
Supper,  etc.  A  man  is  sober  because  he  loves  and  respedls 
himself ;  he  is  righteous,  because  he  loves  and  respedls  his 
neighbor;  he  is  godly  and  is  baptized,  because  he  believes 
in  the  Christ,  and  loves  and  honors  him,  and  would  do 
whatever  is  well-pleasing  to  him.  No  man  can  prove  to 
heaven  or  earth  that  he  has  faith  in  Christ,  repentance 
toward  God,  or  love  to  him  in  his  heart,  who  knows  that 
Jesus  commands  him  to  be  baptized  ;  that  the  command 
has  not  been  repealed,  and  is,  therefore,  still  binding;  who 
stubbornly  and  willfully  negleds  it.  The  sinner,  like  the 
Christian,  must  "show  his  faith  by  his  works."  His  per- 
sistent negledl  of  baptism  is  rebellious  resistance  to  the 
authority  of  the  Savior.  Such  a  man,  with  such  a  stub- 
born will  and  unloving  heart,  can  not  be  saved. 

I  will  now  briefly  notice  some  of  the  principal  objeftions 
made  to  the  design  of  baptism  as  advocated  in  this  dis- 
course. 

"Admitting  your  argument,  thus  far,  to  be  sound, 
and,  in  the  main,  I  think  it  is,  yet,  in  my  judgment,  prayer, 
and  not  baptism,  is  the  positive  institution  ordained  for 
remission  of  sins  to  the  penitent  believing  sinner,"  says 
an  objedlor.  It  is  strange,  with  the  New  Testament  be- 
fore him,  that  any  man  should  hold  prayer  to  be  the  remit- 
ting ordinance  to  the  sinner.  It  is  a  wide-spread  error, 
and  I  deem  it  important  to  give  it  a  thorough  sifting. 

I.  In  the  commission — proven  in  this  discourse  to  be 
the  only  law  of  pardon  to  sinners  under  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation— baptism  is  named  among  the  conditions  of 
pardon,  prayer  is  not.  It  has  also  been  shown  that  it  is 
a  great  sin  "to  add  to  or  take  from  the  Word  of  God." 


296 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Is  it  not,  then,  a  "presumptuous  sin"  in  a  man,  instead 
of  preaching  "He  that  believes  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved,"  to  strike  out  is  ^'baptized,"  and  insert  "prays," 
preaching,  that  "  He  that  believes  and  prays  shall  be 
saved?" 

2.  In  the  Adts  of  Apostles  we  have  the  only  authentic 
record  on  earth  of  the  apostolic  preaching  under  the  au- 
thorization of  the  commission.  Their  discourses,  given 
only  in  part,  are  still  full  enough  to  teach  us  their  under- 
standing of  the  Savior's  meaning  in  giving  the  law.  As 
they  were  inspired  expounders  of  the  law,  their  interpreta- 
tion is  infallible.  Throughout  their  entire  preaching,  as 
recorded  in  the  book  of  Ads,  they  did  invariably  command 
their  hearers,  composed  of  sinners,  to  be  baptized,  and  in 
not  one  instance  did  they  command  them  to  pray. 

3.  We  read,  in  this  book,  that  "three  thousand"  were 
converted  on  the  first  day,  "five  thousand"  the  second, 
and  afterward  "great  multitudes"  are  reported  as  being 
"added  to  the  Lord,"  who  daily  "added  to  the  Church 
the  saved."  No  one  will  accuse  me  of  exaggeration,  when 
I  state  the  number  of  the  converted,  reported  as  the  result 
of  the  preaching  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome,  at  one  hundred 
thousand  souls.  In  the  history  of  these  numerous  con- 
versions, every  one  of  them  was  commanded  to  be  bap- 
tized, and  not  one  commanded  "  to  pray,  or  be  prayed 
for;"  and  yet  I  must  be  gravely  told  that  "baptism  is  a 
non-essential,  and  that  prayer  is  the  heaven-ordained  con- 
dition of  remission  to  the  penitent  believer." 

4.  In  the  history,  also,  it  is  found  that  the  only  man 
who  was  both  commanded  to  pray,  and  who  asked  them 
to  pray  for  him,  was  a  baptized  believer,  Simon  Magus. 
But,  says  the  objeftor:  "Was  not  Paul  commanded  to  '  be 
baptized  and  wash  away  his  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


the  Lord,'  and  is  not  'calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord 
equivalent  to  prayer?"  I  reply:  Saul  had  been  very 
wicked;  had  denied  and  blasphemed  the  Christ;  had  been 
a  great  .persecutor  of  his  disciples;  that  it  was  the  duty  of 
all  believers  in  the  Christ  to  confess  him  with  the  mouth 
before  men.  The  good  confession  was  omitted  in  no  case. 
In  Saul's  case  it  was  pre-eminently  a  duty.  "Calling  on 
the  name  of  the  Lord,"  with  him,  was  the  recognition  of 
the  authority  of  Jesus,  the  confessing  him  to  be  the  Christ. 

But,  grant  that  prayer  is  commanded  in  this  instance, 
what  of  it?  It  does  not  invalidate  baptism;  it  does  not 
substitute  prayer  for  it,  as  you  assert,  but  simply  associates 
prayer  with  the  baptism.  This  extent  hath  the  admission, 
no  more.  What  does  it  teach,  if  prayer  be  meant?  That 
the  penitent  believer  is  to  be  baptized,  and  wash  away 
his  sins,  praying,  at  the  time  and  in  the  very  a5i  of  baptism^ 
to  the  Lord,  that,  "in  coming  to  his  holy  baptism,"  he 
*'  may  receive  the  remission  of  sins."  But  the  admis- 
sion was  made  to  show  you  that,  being  made,  it  will  not 
avail  you,  as  you  thought.  While,  then,  a  sinner  is  not 
commanded  to  pray;  while  it  is  nowhere  spoken  of  as  a  term 
of  pardon  to  him;  while  it  can  not  be  regarded  as  his  duty; 
still,  an  unpardoned  man,  going  forward  believingly,  pen- 
itently, lovingly  in  the  pathway  of  obedience  that  leads  to 
forgiveness  by  the  Divine  promise,  would,  as  the  legiti- 
mate effeft  of  his  faith,  his  deep  sorrow  for  sin,  and  con- 
vidion  of  his  great  guilt,  offer  up  from  his  heart  the  silent 
prayer,  if  not  with  his  lips  the  spoken  one:  "Lord,  have 
mercy  on  me,  a  sinner ;  and  grant  that,  as  my  body  is  washed 
in  water,  my  soul  may  be  washed  from  sin  in  thine  own 
blood."  Such  a  prayer,  at  such  a  time,  as  the  outgush  of 
a  believing,  penitent  soul,  I  do  not  objedl  to,  I  rather  like 
it.    I  think  it  beautiful  and  appropriate.    But  when  sub- 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


stituted  for  a  Divine  command ;  when  these  agonizing  utter- 
ances of  a  human  spirit  under  convi6tion  of  sin  are  relied 
on  as  terms  of  pardon — holding,  as  I  do,  the  Divine  author- 
ity pledged  to  that  end — and  when,  as  is  always  the  case, 
the  preacher  and  the  mourning  sinner  are  knowingly  treat- 
ing baptism  with  contempt,  and  regarding  it  as  a  non- 
essential, then,  from  the  very  depth  of  an  honest  heart,  I 
loathe,  I  hate  the  doftrine  and  the  pradice,  and  my  pro- 
foundest  sympathies  are  stirred  in  behalf  of  the  deluded 
mourners  whose  "blind  guides"  are  leading  them  "into 
the  ditch,"  and  out  of  which,  I  fear,  they  will  never  come. 

5.  The  truth  is,  baptism  and  prayer  are  positive  institu- 
tions, ordained  alike  for  remission  of  sins;  baptism  to  the 
sinner,  prayer  to  the  Christian.  To  believers  not  in  the 
Church,  Peter  says  :  "  Repent,  and  be  baptized  for  re- 
mission of  sins."  To  the  baptized  believer,  Simon  the 
magician,  who  sinned  in  the  Church,  the  same  apostle  said: 
"  Repent  and  pray."  Guided  by  the  apostle,  we  can  not 
err. 

In  final  statement  on  the  subjeft  of  prayer,  I  beg  leave 
to  say,  that  a  sinner  (by  which  is  meant  an  unpardoned 
man,  who  has  never  been  a  member  of  the  Church),  as 
such,  is  nowhere  commanded  in  the  Bible  to  pray  for  the 
remission  of  his  sins,  or  for  any  other  purpose ;  and  that 
every  soul  that  was  ever  commanded  or  encouraged  to 
pray,  in  the  New  Testament,  by  the  Savior  or  the  apostles, 
was  at  the  time  either  a  member  of  the  Church  of  God 
under  the  Jewish  dispensation,  or  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
under  the  Christian  dispensation. 

But  says  another  objedlor:  "In  the  commission,  it  is 
said  that  'he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned;'  and,  if 
baptism  is  essential,  it  seems  to  me  it  ought  to  have 
read:  '  He  that  believeth  not,  and  is  not  baptized,  shall  be 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


299 


damned.'  "  In  your  own  mind,  write  out  the  commission, 
adding  your  amendment.  Then  salvation  is  left  where  we 
found  it,  dependent  upon  two  conditions;  but  damnation, 
instead  of  being  suspended  on  one  adl  of  disobedience,  can 
now  only  be  executed  upon  two  a6ts  of  disobedience,  '^hen^ 
he  could  be  damned  if  he  believed  not;  now,  he  can  not. 
Before  he  can  be  condemned  under  the  improved  commis- 
sion, he  must  also  be  unbaptized.  To  be  damned,  he  must 
be  a  non-believer,  and  unbaptized.  A  baptized  unbeliever 
and  an  unbaptized  believer,  having  obeyed  one  command 
and  disobeyed  the  other,  could,  according  to  this  commis- 
sion, be  neither  saved  nor  damned. 

You  have  altogether  mistaken  the  value  of  the  omission 
of  baptism  from  the  last  clause  of  the  commission.  The 
meaning  of  the  commission — in  the  light  of  itself,  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  of  common  sense — is,  that  the  be- 
liever shall  have  remission  of  sins  in  being  baptized;  but 
that  the  unbeliever  will  be  damned,  whether  baptized  or 
not  baptized. 

Dear  hearer,  we  can  not  alter  that  law  of  pardon.  Were 
we  to  attempt  it,  in  some  new  translation,  we  would  recoil 
at  the  unmitigated  wickedness  of  the  ad:.  What  we  dare 
not  print  in  a  newly-published  Bible  we  are  getting  out, 
it  is  both  a  bold  and  wicked  a6l  to  teach.  Let  us  try,  for 
experiment's  sake,  to  alter  it.  We  will  employ  the  word 
"  not"  as  the  chief  element  of  alteration.  We  can  alter 
it  in  several  ways. 

He  that  believeth,  and  is  not  baptized,  shall  be  saved. 

He  that  believeth  not,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved. 

He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  not  be  saved. 

No  lover  of  the  blessed  Jesus  would  consent  to  pervert 
God's  holy  word.  Hence,  no  honest  man  could  sandion 
any  one  of  these  alterations.    Then  let  the  commission 


300 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


stand.  Touch  not  a  single  part — mar  not,  by  human  ad- 
dition, the  fair  proportions  of  the  Savior's  finished  work. 
"Handle  not  the  Word  of  God  deceitfully;"  "diminish 
not  a  word;"  "  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God."  Let 
us  preach  the  commission  fully,  faithfully,  and  forever. 

"  But  will  I  be  damned  if  I  am  not  baptized  ?"  Cer- 
tainly. Why  not?  It  is  the  blood  of  Christ  that  really 
washes  away  the  guilt  of  sin.  We  come  to  the  blood 
"into  the  death"  of  Christ,  through  faith  and  repentance, 
and  in  baptism.  You  believe  and  repent,  but  say  baptism 
is  a  non-essential,  and,  therefore,  will  not  obey  it ;  that  is, 
you  will  do  nothing  for  the  love  of  Jesus  but  just  so  much 
and  no  more  as  is  necessary  to  "  escape  the  damnation  of 
hell."  Why  should  you  be  damned  if  you  do  not  believe, 
and  not  damned  if  you  are  not  baptized  ?  Why  is  faith 
essential  to  salvation,  and  baptism  not.?  Is  faith  essen- 
tial? Yes.  Why?  Is  there  any  intrinsic  merit  or  saving 
efficacy  in  faith  ?  None.  Is  Jesus  under  any  obligation 
to  you  because  you  believe  ?  No.  Is  there  any  merit  in 
faith  and  repentance  combined"?  None.  Add  baptism, 
and  is  there  any?  None.  The  efficacy  is  in  the  grace  of 
God,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus.  Of  three  things  which 
equally  are  void  of  merit,  how  can  two  of  them  be  essen- 
tial, and  the  other  not  ?  Of  three  nonentities,  can  you 
make  two  entities,  and  have  a  nonentity  left?  Of  three 
nothings. can  you  make  two  of  them  something,  and  the 
remaining  one  still  nothing?  Why  is  faith  essential? 
Jesus  suspends  the  pardon  of  the  sinner  on  it.  He  com- 
mands him  to  believe,  but  he  commands  him  to  be  bap- 
tized also  ;  and  he  gave  this  command  at  the  same  time, 
under  the  same  circumstances,  in  the  same  sentence,  to 
be  preached  to  the  same  people — for  the  same  purpose 
as  he  gave  the  command  to  believe.    If  one  is  essential, 


W.  H.  HOPSON. 


so  is  the  other.  If  one  is  non-essential,  so  is  the  other. 
The  believer  will  be  pardoned  if  he  will  be  baptized.  The 
baptized  man  will  be  pardoned  if  he  be  a  believer.  There 
can  be  no  other  meaning  to  the  mandatory  promise,  "  He 
that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved."  "Believe," 
here  used  in  its  broader  meaning,  includes  repentance. 
The  baptized,  penitent  believer,  according  to  the  Savior's 
promise,  will  receive  the  remission  of  sins.  No  other 
man  will.  I  believe  and  teach  that,  according  to  the  law 
of  the  Lord  in  the  New  Testament,  a  man  must  believe 
with  all  his  heart  in  the  Divine  Redeemer;  must  deeply, 
sorrowfully,  truly  repent  of  his  sins  against  God  and  the 
Christ,  and  must  be  baptized,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  order  to  the  pardon  of  his  past  sins. 
I  further  believe  and  teach,  that  no  one  will  obtain  an  in- 
heritance among  the  redeemed  and  sanctified  in  heaven 
who  willfully  negledls  baptism,  knowing  it  to  be  a  com- 
mandment of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Is  it  not  strange,  passing 
strange,  that  the  Protestant  parties  in  the  land  consider 
the  acknowledgment  of  the  Trinity  an  essential  element  of 
an  orthodox  faith,  and  an  essential  qualification  for  admis- 
sion into  an  orthodox  Church  ;  yet  will  treat  as  a  matter 
of  inferior  moment  (speaking  of  it  as  a  non-essential)  a  com- 
mandment of  Jesus  the  Christ,  which  is  a  clear  revelation 
of  his  will  concerning  our  duty,  and  the  only  one  in  all 
the  Bible  commanded  to  be  done  in  or  into  the  names  of 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit?  But  such  is,  neverthe- 
less, the  fadl,  and  it  furnishes  an  additional  reason  why  we 
should  "contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints." 


WILLIAM  KIMBROUGH  PENDLETON. 


^1X7ILLIAM  KIMBROUGH  PENDLETON  was  born  in  Louisa 
'  '  County,  Virginia,  September  8,  1817.  He  is  of  English  descent, 
and  liis  ancestors,  both  paternal  and  maternal,  have,  from  the  earliest  his- 
tory of  this  country,  occupied  distinguished  positions  in  the  state  and  the 
church.  His  inother  was  brought  up  under  Episcopal  influence,  but  his 
father.  Colonel  Edmund  Pendleton,  was  not  a  member  of  any  church  until 
William  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  became  a  reader  of  the 
"Christian  Baptist"  and  "Millennial  Harbinger,"  and,  after  a  full  and  free 
investigation  of  the  plea  presented  by  the  advocates  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity, he  determined  to  be  immersed  "for  the  remission  of  sins."  He 
soon  became  an  aftive  and  earnest  worker  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and, 
through  his  influence,  a  church  was  established  in  his  neighborhood,  which 
was  the  first  Disciples'  church  in  that  part  of  Virginia,  and  was  the  nucleus 
of  the  Mount  Gilboa  Church,  which  afterward  became  celebrated  for  being 
the  germ  from  which  sprung  many  other  congregations.  The  "peculiar 
doftrines"  which  the  father  advocated  met  with  very  determined  opposi- 
tion from  the  various  religious  sefts  of  the  neighborhood.  Hence^  every 
position  of  the  new  movement  was  subjefted  to  the  severest  investigation; 
and,  as  his  father's  house  was  the  center  of  most  of  these  discussions,  Wil- 
liam had,  thus  early,  every  opportunity  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  principles  of  the  Reformation. 

From  his  earliest  boyhood  his  education  was  carefully  provided  for. 
After  attending,  for  several  years,  the  best  schools  in  that  part  of  the  State, 
he  entered  the  University  of  Virginia,  where,  besides  the  academical  course, 
he  studied  the  law  two  years,  and  was  licensed  to  praftice.  During  most  of 
this  time  he  had  been  a  regular  reader  of  the  "  Christian  Baptist "  and  "  Mil- 
lennial Harbinger,"  and  a  constant  and  earnest  student  of  the  Word  of  God. 
He  also  afted  as  amanuensis  for  his  father  in  conducting  some  epistolary  dis- 
cussions with  a  Baptist  preacher  and  others;  heard  Elder  S.  Higgason  and 
James  Bagley  preach  for  years,  besides  hearing  occasionally  many  of  the 
most  distinguished  preachers  among  the  Disciples ;  was  constantly  in  com- 
pany with  Disciples  at  his  father's  house ;  and,  above  all,  and  before  all,  was 

C303) 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


carefully  trained  from  his  infancy  by  a  pious  mother — "a.  woman  possess- 
ing the  gentleness  and  mildness  of  a  child,  combined  with  the  firmness  and 
courage  of  a  Spartan  mother — extremely  modest  and  unobtrusive,  yet,  when 
drawn  into  conversation,  showing  great  depth  of  thought  and  clearness  ot 
perception,  and  a  mind  well  stored  with  information."  Such  was  the  char- 
after  of  the  religious  influences  brought  to  bear  upon  him,  and,  under  these, 
having  come  to  a  full  understanding  of  his  duty,  he  was,  in  June,  1840, 
immersed  by  Alexander  Campbell,  at  the  Mount  Gilboa  Church,  Louisa 
County,  Virginia,  being,  at  the  time,  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  his  age. 
In  the  fall  of  1840,  he  was  married  to  Lavinia  M.,  daughter  of  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  a  lady  of  brilliant  intelleft  and  beautiful  Christian  char- 
after,  who  died  in  the  spring  of  1846. 

He  was  appointed  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  in  Bethany  College, 
in  May,  1 841,  (the  year  the  college  was  founded,)  and  has  been  connefted 
with  it  ever  since  as  Professor,  and,  much  of  the  time,  as  Vice-President, 
and  now  as  President.  In  1844  he  was  united  to  the  editorial  corps  of 
the  *'  Millennial  Harbinger,"  and  has  continued  in  that  relation  ever  since, 
being  at  this  time  its  proprietor  and  senior  editor. 

In  August,  1848,  he  was  again  married — this  time  to  Clarinda,  also  a 
daughter  of  Alexander  Campbell.  Mr.  Campbell's  celebrated  letters 
from  Europe  were  addressed  to  this  daughter.  She  was  greatly  beloved 
by  all  who  knew  her,  and  was  thoroughly  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 
She  died  in  January,  1851,  rich  in  good  works,  and  "meet  to  be  a  par- 
taker of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light."  In  the  autumn  of  1855, 
he  was  again  married — to  Catherine  H.,  daughter  of  Judge  Leceister 
King,  of  Warren,  Trumbull  County,  Ohio. 

FoT  several  years  previous  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Campbell,  Professor  Pen- 
dleton discharged  the  duties  of  President  of  Bethany  College,  and,  on  the 
death  of  Mr.  Campbell,  was  unanimously  elefted  by  the  curators  to  fill 
the  place  so  long  and  ably  occupied  by  his  father-in-law. 

President  Pendleton  is  five  feet  eight  and  a  half  inches  high,  and  weighs 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  His  nervous  system  predominates 
over  both  the  muscular  and  vital ;  hence,  he  is  capable  of  great  intelleftual 
force>  but  has  rather  a  feeble  physical  organization.  As  a  speaker,  he  is 
chaste,  logical,  and  impressive,  but,  on  account  of  his  profession,  has  never 
had  sufficient  opportunities  for  .thoroughly  testing  his  powers  before  the 
people.  As  a  writer,  he  stands  unquestionably  without  a  superior  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Disciples.  But  it  is  as  the  dignified,  courteous,  polished. 
Christian  gentleman  that  you  delight  to  know  him.  And,  to  understand 
what  we  mean  by  this,  you  must  know  him,  for  no  description  can  ever  do 
him  justice. 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT. 


BY  W.  K.  PENDLETON. 


"  Nevertheless,  I  tell  you  the  truth  ;  it  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go 
away :  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you ;  but 
if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you.  And  when  he  is  come,  he  will 
reprove  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment :  of  sin, 
because  they  believe  not  on  me;  of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to  my 
Father,  and  ye  see  me  no  more ;  of  judgment,  because  the  prince  of  this 
world  is  judged." — John  xvi :  7-11. 

WHEN  the  Savior  said  to  his  apostles,  "It  is  ex- 
pedient for  you  that  I  go  away,"  it  must  have  been 
to  them  a  declaration  hard  to  understand.  His  presence  had 
been  so  necessary  to  their  confidence,  and  so  full  of  comfort 
and  of  power,  that  they  could  not  regard  a  separation  with 
less  than  the  gloomiest  forebodings.  They  had  hung  upon 
his  words  with  the  fond  and  newly-awakened  hopes  of 
eternal  life;  they  had  forsaken  all  to  follow  him;  and  now, 
to  be  left  alone,  what  could  it  seem  but  the  saddest  and 
darkest  disappointment?  When  "many  of  his  disciples 
went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  him,"  and  he  had 
asked  them,  with  such  pathetic  tenderness,  "Will  ye  also 
go  away?"  Peter,  the  prompt  and  impulsive  P.eter,  had 
answered,  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life."  There  was  no  light,  no  strength, 
no  hope  to  them  but  in  Christ,  and  how  could  it  be  expe- 
20  (305) 


3o6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


dient  for  them  that  he  should  go  away?  It  was  a  saying 
hard  to  be  understood,  requiring,  in  fadl,  a  fuller  revela- 
tion of  the  Divine  economy  of  redemption  than  he  had 
yet  made  to  them. 

Hitherto,  the  central  power  of  this  economy  had  been 
in  his  sensible  person.  Martha,  weeping  over  the  death  of 
Lazarus,  says :  "  Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here^  my 
brother  had  not  died."  Before  Jairus's  daughter  is  raised, 
Jesus  goes  to  the  house  of  her  parents,  stands  over  the 
bier,  takes  her  by  the  hand,  and  says,  "  Daughter,  arise." 

The  power  of  Christ  to  help  was  centered  in  his  visible^ 
sensible  person^  and  that  was  limited  to  time  lind  place.  True, 
in  sending  out  the  seventy,  and  healing  the  centurian's  serv- 
ant, we  have  instances  of  power  exerted  where  he  was  not 
personally  present.  But  even  in  these  cases  there  was 
dired:  connexion  with  his  person  by  some  one  before  the 
influence  was  imparted.  Evidently  these  sensuous  limi- 
tations were  not  suited  to  the  omnipresent  wants  of  a 
spiritual  kingdom.  An  omnipresent  agent  is  needed  for 
a  universal  kingdom.  A  spirit-presence  must  take  the 
place  of  a  sense-presence.  The  heart  must  be  filled  where 
the  eye  can  not  see;  and  Jesus  must  go  away,  that  the 
Paraclete,  the  advocate  and  comforter,  may  come.  Let 
us  consider  the  ditference.  Suppose  Jesus  to-day  at  Je- 
rusalem, and  seated  on  the  throne  of  David,  in  the  person 
he  wore  when  he  stood,  eighteen  centuries  ago,  arraigned 
as  a  criminal  before  the  bar  of  Pilate.  Around  the  throne 
there  might  be  the  eifulgence  of  glory,  and  in  his  presence 
fullness  of  joy.  But  what  would  he  be  to  us,  in  this  far 
distant  land  of  the  West.''  Between  him  and  our  hearts 
an  ocean-barrier  rolls ;  the  radiance  of  his  countenance 
beams  not  upon  us,  and  his  words  come  to  us  through  the 
telegraph,  chilled  by  the  distance  and  void  of  the  vital 


W.  K.  PENDLETON. 


breath  of  the  Kfng.  We  can  not  see  him,  or  hear  him. 
Like  Moses,  wrapped  in  the  misty  shroud  of  Mount  Sinai, 
he  is  hidden  from  our  view.  What  would  be  left  us  but, 
like  the  children  of  Israel,  to  turn  to  our  own  devices,  and 
cry  :  "  Up,  make  us  gods  which  shall  go  before  us."  Peter 
returns  to  his  nets,  and  the  rest  go  with  him. 

On  the  other  hand,  enthrone  Jesus  in  heaven,  invest 
him  with  all  power,  and  fill  the  earth  with  the  presence  of 
the  Spirit — the  Paraclete — the  official  advocate  and  com- 
forting minister  of  his  reign.  Here  is  a  power  wide  as 
the  domain  of  his  truth,  breathing  with  ever-present  in- 
fluence through  words  of  eternal  life ;  working  with  the 
same  energy  that  brooded  over  the  primitive  chaos,  and 
molding  into  order,  and  form,  and  beauty,  and  conscious 
blessedness,  the  new  spirit-world,  a  glorious  regeneration 
of  the  wreck  of  the  old. 

Doubtless  the  apostles  felt  disconsolate  when  the  Savior 
said,  "I  go  away;"  but  when,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
the  Spirit  came,  and  they  were  baptized  in  its  power,  and 
began  to  speak  with  tongues,  and  felt  the  mighty  energy 
of  truth  burning  for  utterance,  and  saw  its  two-edged 
sharpness  piercing  the  hearts  of  their  enemies,  they  could 
say:  "  We  are  not  left  comfortless  ;  the  blessed  Jesus  has 
indeed  gone  away;  but,  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  he  hath  shed  forth  this  which  ye  now  see 
and  hear."  Truly  did  he  say,  "  It  is  expedient  for  you 
that  I  go  away,"  because,  as  he  promised,  he  hath  sent  the 
Comforter. 

Thus,  in  one  passage,  the  Savior  very  formally  an- 
nounces his  purpose  to  devolve  the  advocacy  of  his  cause 
upon  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  replace  his  personal  presence  by 
the  ministration  of  the  Paraclete,  and  declares  it  to  be  ex- 


3o8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


pedient  for  his  disciples  that  he  should  do  so.  There  is 
to  be  a  new  administration  of  affairs,  and  a  new  ministry. 
Let  us  consider — 

I.  The  Minister. 

II.   To  WHOM  HE  IS  SENT. 

III.  What  is  his  work. 
I.  The  Minister. 

He  is  called  the  Paraclete.  The  term,  in  its  fullness, 
means  a  comforting  helper.  It  is  a  name  by  which  the 
Savior  calls  the  Holy  Spirit.  (John  xiv:  26.)  In  our 
passage  he  is  presented  to  us  as  the  successor  of  Christ  in 
the  administration  of  the  economy  of  redemption.  He 
proceedeth  from  the  Father,  and  is  sent  by  the  Son.  (John 
XV :  16.)  He  is,  therefore,  a  distind  manifestation  of 
God.  For  the  want  of  a  better  term,  we  call  him  a  per- 
son, a  word  which  very  inadequately  represents  the  idea  of 
a  spiritual  essence.  But  the  New  Testament  leaves  no 
ambiguity  as  to  the  threefold  manifestation  of  God,  in 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit;  and  as  the  word  person  has 
been  used  by  the  common  version  to  translate  both  the 
prosopon  {npoaconov)  of  Christ,  (2  Cor,  ii :  10,)  and  the 
hupostasis  {pTzoaxaaiz^  of  the  Father,  (Heb.  i :  3,)  we  are 
warranted  in  applying  the  same  term  also  to  that  mani- 
festation of  God,  which  is  called,  in  the  Scriptures,  the 
Holy  Spirit.  That  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  distindt  personal 
manifestation  of  God  is  evident: 

First,  from  the  fad  that  he  is  designated,  like  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  by  appropriate  names.  He  is  called  "  the 
Paraclete,"  and  "  the  Holy  Spirit ;"  and  the  latter  desig- 
nation is  expressly  given  as  his  name:  "Baptizing  them 
into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit."  (Matt,  xxviii :  19.)    The  expression  is  lit- 


W.  K.  PENDLETON. 


era],  and  the  distindness  of  the  three  marked  by  a  definite- 
ness  that  could  not  be  more  sharply  indicated  by  language. 
Our  baptism  brings  us  equally  into  relation  to  the  three 
as  persons^  and  presents  the  three  to  us,  at  the  same  time, 
as  also  ont  in  nature. 

Second.  From  the  fa6l  that  both  intelligence  and  determin- 
ing will  are  ascribed  to  him.  "  He  is  a  Spirit  of  wisdom, 
of  understanding,  of  counsel,  and  knowledge."  (Isa.  xi :  2.) 
"He  searcheth  all  things,  even  the  deep  things  of  God." 
(i  Cor.  ii :  10.)  He  is  the  author  of  spiritual  gifts;  and 
the  apostle  declares  that,  in  distributing  these,  "he  di- 
vides to  every  man  as  he  will."  (i  Cor.  xii :  11.)  But 
what  can  thus  a6t  with  intelligence  and  free  choice  but  a 
distind  person.?  These  are  not  isolated  passages,  but  the 
general  drift  of  revelation,  concerning  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 
to  the  same  efFed. 

Third.  Not  only  has  he  intelligence  and  free  choice,  but 
also  accompanying  power.  He  descends  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  as  a  mighty  rushing  wind ;  he  imparts  the 
power  of  working  miracles  to  the  apostles,  just  as  Christ 
had  done ;  he  raises  up  Christ  from  the  dead  ;  he  smites 
the  hypocrites  Ananias  and  Sapphira  with  death  in  the  in- 
stant of  their  falsehood;  and  many  other  marvelous  works 
are  ascribed  to  him,  which  present  him  constantly  before 
us,  in  the  boldest  and  most  striking  aspects  of  personal 
grandeur  and  power. 

Fourth.  Our  passage  speaks  of  him  as  a  person,  as  one 
that  can  come^  that  may  be  sent^  that  can  glorify  the  Son, 
and  guide  the  disciples  into  all,  or  the  whole  truth.  "  He 
shall  take  of  mine,"  says  the  Savior,  "and  show  it  unto 
you."  (John  xvi:  15.)  Can  an  agent  like  this  be  a  mere 
influence  .''  Can  language  like  this  be  applicable  to  merely 
impersonal  means,  having  no  distind  energy  of  their  own, 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


and  moving  simply  as  they  are  moved  by  some  other 
power  ?  Surely  words  are  meaningless,  and  all  reality 
must  be  banished  from  the  Scriptures,  if  these  expressions 
are  simply  metaphors,  shadows  of  shades,  misty  utterances 
about  unknown  phantoms,  that  vanish  from  our  view  when 
we  attempt  to  fix  them  in  thought,  or  give  them,  in  our 
faith,  "  a  local  habitation  and  a  name." 

Fifth.  Because,  in  the  new  dispensation,  he  is  set  forth 
as  the  promised  personal  manifestation  of  God.  In  Lev- 
iticus xxvi:  11,12,  God,  speaking  absolutely,  says :  "I  will 
set  my  tabernacle  among  you,  and  will  be  your  God,  and 
ye  shall  be  my  people."  But  Paul,  in  i  Cor.  vi ;  i6,  in- 
terprets this  as  z  promise,  and  finds  its  fulfillment  in  the 
aftual  bestowal  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  dwell  in  the  hearts 
of  Christians.  He  says  :  "  Ye  are  the  temple  of  the  liv- 
ing God  ;  as  God  hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk 
among  them."  This  he  accomplishes  in  the  person  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  "  Know  ye  not,  that  ye  are  the  temple 
of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you  ?  for  the 
temple  of  God  are  ye."  While,  then,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
personally  distind:,  he  is,  in  nature,  God;  so  that,  when  he 
fills  the  temple  of  the  human  heart,  it  is  truly  God  who 
dwells  in  it. 

Thus  is  this  minister  of  the  new  reign  set  before  us  ;  b) 
his  official  and  his  essential  name ;  by  his  omniscient  in- 
telligence and  self-determining  will ;  by  his  omnipotent 
power;  by  his  glorious  and  official  procession  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  and  by  his  ij-epresentative  dignity  as 
the  personal  manifestation  of  God  in  the  new  and  spiritual 
kingdom.  By  all  these,  and  many  other  tokens,  he  comes 
to  us,  our  Comforter,  Helper,  Friend.  He  introduces  him- 
self wondrously  to  us  in  the  sublime  and  overpowering 
scenes  of  Pentecost,  and  opens  up  the  new  empire  over 


W   K.  PENDLETON. 


the  hearts  of  men,  with  a  grand  exhibition  of  his  power 
to  perform  the  work  for  which  he  is  sent.    Let  us  inquire: 

II.   To  WHOM  IS  HE  SENT. 

This  question  need  not  detain  us  long;  but  it  is  im- 
poftant,  in  approaching  it>  to  notice  the  different  econo- 
mies or  dispensations  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Before  the  fall,  man  enjoyed  the  full  mani- 
festation of  God.  The  unveiled  Majesty  stood  before 
him  in  the  garden.  He  walked  with  God,  as  a  son  with 
a  father.  Paradise  was  garnished  for  him  with  "  herb, 
tree,  fruit,  and  flower,  glistening  with  dew." 

"  Gentle  gales. 
Fanning  their  odoriferous  wings,  dispense 
Native  perfumes,  and  whisper  whence  they  stole 
Their  balmy  spoils." 

His  heart  is  open  to  God  in  all  pure  worship.  He 
moves,  a  peer  among  the  cherubim,  and  mingles  his  praises 
with  theirs.  The  will  of  God  thrills  through  his  nature 
as  his  vital  breath.  He  trembles  with  fullness  of  joy. 
"God  is  all  in  all" — "Omnipotent,  immutable,  immor- 
tal, infinite,  eternal  King."  This  is  the  dispensation  of 
the  Father.  Man  is  without  sin,  and  God  is  manifested 
only  as  life,  light,  and  love. 

The  entrance  of  sin  breaks  this  harmony.  Man  is  ban- 
ished from  the  garden  of  Eden.  The  dispensation  of  love 
gives  place  to  the  dispensation  of  law.  Remedial  grace 
holds  the  world  in  quarantine.  God  operates  afar  off 
through  his  Son.  He  does  not  utterly  abandon  us,  but 
out  of  the  thick  darkness  he  speaks  in  tones  of  thunder, 
and,  at  long  intervals,  by  the  "angel  of  the  presence." 
The  promised  seed  of  the  woman  even  now  has  his  "de- 


312 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


lights  with  the  sons  of  men."  (Prov.  viii:  31.)  He  ap 
pears  to  Abraham,  and  speaks  with  Moses  in  the  Mount  of 
Sinai,  (Adts  vii:  38,)  adding  the  law,  till  he  should  come 
in  full  accomplishment  of  the  promise.  (Gal.  iii :  19.)  Yet 
when,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  he  is  manifested  in  the  flesfi, 
his  operation  is  transient,  and  mostly  limited  to  his  per- 
sonal presence.  Even  his  apostles  do  not  comprehend 
him.  He  speaks  in  parables,  and  holds  the  truth  under  a 
veil.  Until  sin  is  atoned  for,  and  his  work  of  redemption 
done,  there  can  be  no  closer  or  more  intimate  relation  to 
the  sinner.  God  and  man  must  be  reconciled  before  the 
lost  fellowship  of  Eden  can  be  restored.  This  is  his  work, 
and  it  leads  him  by  the  gate  of  death.  He  must  glorify 
humanity  in  his  own  person  before  he  can  sandify  it  with 
his  Holy  Spirit.  This. is  the  remedial  dispensation — the 
dispensation  of  the  Son. 

Not  until  it  was  finished  could  the  Holy  Spirit  be  given. 
True  the  Spirit,  as  of  the  divine  essence,  appears  in  every 
dispensation  as  an  inseparable,  co-operating  divine  agent. 
As  the  Savior  said:  "The  Father  worketh  hitherto  and 
I  work;"  and,  "Without  the  Father  I  can  do  nothing." 
So  it  is  equally  true  that  there  is  also  an  ever-present  co- 
operation of  the  Spirit.  But  it  is  an  operation,  ab  extra, 
from  without.  The  glorification  of  the  Son  opens  up  a  neN\ 
era — the  dispensation  or  economy  of  the  Holy  Spirit — a 
manifestation  of  the  Spirit  fuller  and  more  permanent  and 
intimate  than  had  ever  been  enjoyed  before.  This  could 
not  be,  our  passage  expressly  declares,  until  Christ  should 
go  away.  "If  I  go  not  away,  the  Paraclete  will  not  come 
unto  you;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you." 
The  disciples  had,  doubtless,  felt  the  influence  of  the  Spirit 
in  looking  upon  the  radiant  countenance,  and  listening 
•  o  the  burning  words  of  Jesus,  and  when  he  breathed  on 


W.  K.  PENDLETON. 


them,  and  said  unto  them:  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Spirit, 
(John  XX :  22,)  the  action  and  the  word  must  have  thrilled 
them  with  a  sense  of  divine  ecstacy  and  power.  But  he 
is  not  yet  given,  as  the  fountain  of  an  overflowing  river 
of  living  water,  in  the  heart  of  the  believer,  because  that 
Jesus  is  not  yet  glorified.  (John  vii:  38,  3-9.)  The  disci- 
ples must  yet  tarry,  sorrowful  it  may  be,  but  yet  in  hope, 
tarry  at  Jerusalem  till  this  new  power — the  Comforting 
Advocate — shall  come.  (Luke  xxiv:  49.) 

He  had  brooded  over  chaos,  the  quickening  power  in 
creation;  striven  with  the  antediluvians  in  their  rebellion 
against  the  will  of  God;  cheered  with  bright  and  hopeful 
visions  the  fainting  hearts  of  the  patriarchs,  and  other  im- 
mortal heroes  of  God ;  opened  long  vistas  down  through 
the  mysterious  future  to  the  wondering  eyes  of  the  proph- 
ets, and  clothed,  in  rosy  light,  the  dawning  day  of  the  good 
things  to  come;  thrilled  the  souls  of  poets  with  sweet  in- 
spirations and  power  to  strike  the  sublimest  chords  of 
song;  cherished  and  kept  alive,  in  pure  minds,  the  death- 
less memories  of  God,  and  "the  pure  empyrean  where  he 
sits  high-throned  above  all  height;"  stirred  in  brooding 
hearts  immortal  longings  for  the  return  of  the  golden  days 
of  Eden,  long  dimmed  in  sinful  night;  and  in  all,  and 
through  all  the  wise  and  wondrous  providence  of  God, 
moved  and  worked,  one  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  but 
yet,  not  as  a  distindl  dweller  in  the  temple  of  humanity, 
an  abiding  guest  in  the  heart  of  the  fallen,  a  comforting 
helper  to  the  orphaned  exile  from  the  Father's  face. 

This  is  a  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  long  promised  and 
yet  to  come,  and  its  accomplishment  brings  us  to  the  ever 
memorable  Pentecost;  to  the  scene  in  the  upper  chamber, 
where  the  disciples  are  waiting;  to  the  miracles  of  tongues ; 
to  the  sermon  of  Peter,  and  the  conversion  of  the  three 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


thousand  in  a  day.  The  period  of  the  last  days  is  now 
fully  come,  and  the  Spirit  is  poured  out  in  all  fullness  and 
power.  Jesus  has  been  glorified.  Humanity  has  been 
lifted  up  in  his  victory,  and  fitted  for  the  indwelling  of 
the  Spirit.  He  may  now  enter  the  long-closed  temple  of 
the  human  heart,  now  reconciled  to  the  Father,  through 
the  death  of  the  Son,  and  take  up  his  abode  there  to  dwell 
with  it  forever. 

Returning  to  our  question :  To  whom  is  he  sent  ?  we  find 
the  answer  easy  and  intelligible.  Our  passage  says  :  "  I 
will  send  him  unto  you" — you,  my  disciples.  Again: 
"This  spake  he  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believe  on 
him  should  receive."  (John  vii :  39.)  Again  :  "  I  will 
pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter, 
that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever ;  even  the  Spirit  of 
Truth;  whom  the  world  can  not  receive,  because  it  seeth 
him  not,  neither  knoweth  him :  but  ye  know  him ;  for  he 
dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you."  (John  xiv :  16, 
17.)  Yet  again,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  Peter,  speak- 
ing as  he  was  moved  by  this  same  Spirit,  says  :  "  Repent, 
and  be  baptized,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit."  (A6ls  ii :  38.)  It  is  the  baptized,  penitent  be- 
liever, then,  to  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  is  sent ;  and  to  him, 
in  contrast  with  the  unconverted,  the  impenitent,  the  un- 
baptized  "world"  to  whom  he  is  not  sent.  And  the 
reason  of  this  is  plain.  As  his  coming  is  restrained 
till  Jesus  shall  go  away,  and  his  ministry  withheld  till 
humanity  is  first  glorified  in  the  person  of  Christ,  so  it  is 
incompatible  with  the  dignity  and  purity  of  the  Divine 
economy  that  the  Holy  Spirit  should  be  sent  to  dwell  in 
a  heart  that  had  not,  by  faith,  received  Christ,  and  washed 
in  the  fountain  of  his  blood,  opened  for  sin  and  unclean- 
ness.  (Zech.  xiii :  i.)    The  mission  of  Christ  ends  with 


W.  K.  PENDLETON. 


3^5 


his  fitting  humanity,  by  faith  in  him,  for  the  reception  of 
the  Spirit.  The  mission  of  the  Spirit  commences  by  his 
taking  up  his  abode  in  the  temple  thus  prepared  for  his 
entrance. 

III.  What  is  his  work?- 

This  is  twofold.  First,  in  the  heart  of  the  believers, 
leading  them  to  glorify  Jesus,  by  reproducing  in  them  his 
life;  and  second,  through  the  disciples,  upon  the  world. 

In  these  twofold  operations  there  is  this  difference :  in 
the  first,  he  dwells  in  and  works  with  the  believers.  In 
the  apostolic  age  he  imparts  spiritual  gifts  to  them  ;  then 
and  always,  he  dwells  in  the  heart  of  the  disciples  to  help 
their  infirmities,  (Rom.  viii :  26,)  and  work  in  them  both 
to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure  (Phil,  ii:  13).  In 
the  second,  he  operates  through  the  disciples  upon  the  world. 
^^The  world,"  as  such,  can  not  receive  him.  Upon  them 
he  works  from  without,  producing  faith,  and  preparing 
them,  by  the  reception  of  Christ,  to  become  fit  temples 
for  his  entrance  as  a  comforting  guest.  And  this  is  the 
great  work  to  which  our  passage  especially  points  our 
attention.  It  is  what  the  Savior  emphatically  declares  the 
Paraclete  shall  do  when  he  comes.  "  He  shall  convince 
or  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of 
judgment."  These  are  the  grand  themes  of  the  great 
advocate.    Let  us  consider  them. 

I.  He  shall  reprove  the  world  of  sin.  What  is  the  method 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  working  convidion  in  the  hearts  of 
men?  How  shall  he  reprove  the  world  of  sin?  Shall  he 
descant  upon  the  dod:rine  of  the  fall ;  weave  fine  metaphy- 
sical webs  about  human  depravity;  decide  whether  it  is 
total  or  partial ;  discuss  the  ethics  of  transmitted  guilt ; 
draw  nice  distindions  between  original  and  hereditary  sin; 


3i6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


turn  all  our  misfortune  and  woe  over  to  Adam;  or,  look- 
ing into  our  own  aftions,  condemn  us  by  the  special  crimes 
of  our  own  personal  life  ?  This  is  man's  method — the 
bungling  diagnosis  of  our  spiritual  dodors.  Into  what  a 
maze  of  controversy  it  leads  us,  and  how  it  turns  the 
heart  away  from  Christ,  and'  the  great  question  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  raises  with  the  world  !  "Shall  I  be  damned 
because  my  ancestor,  six  thousand  years  ago,  imprudently 
ate  of  an  apple?"  says  one;  and  he  stands  excusing  himself 
on  the  ethics  of  this  question  till  he  is  lost.  "  I  live  in  all 
good  conscience,"  says  another;  ''I  defraud  no  one,  I  give 
to  the  poor,  and  '  with  gentle  heart  worship  nature  in 
hill  and  valley,'  cherishing 

"  'A  sense  sublime 
Of  something  far  more  deeply  interfused. 
Whose  dwelling  is  the  light  of  setting  suns. 
And  the  round  ocean  and  the  living  air; 
A  motion  and  a  Spirit,  that  impels 
All  thinking  things,  all  objefts  of  all  thought. 
And  rolls  through  all  things,' 

Shall  I,  thus  elevated  in  soul,  and  wrapped  in  Divine 
spheres  of  reason,  be  ranked  with  the  vulgar  herd  that 
grovel  in  the  dust  ?  What  is  my  crime  ?  What  stain 
spots  the  robe  of  my  righteousness  ?"  And  thus,  self- 
fascinated,  he  puts  aside  the  great  question  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  goes  to  the  judgment  without  Christ.  Amaz- 
ing folly  !  These,  O  man,  are  not  the  questions  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  raises  with  you,  by  which  he  reproves  you 
of  sin. 

He  asks  you,  "What  think  you  of  Christ?"  He  re- 
proves you  of  sin,  not  because  of  Adam's  sin;  not  because 
you  stand,  a  shattered  column  from  the  ruin  of  Paradise; 
but  because,  so  standing,  marred  and  defaced  by  sin,  you 


W    K.  PENDLETON. 


refuse  his  offered  help  to  restore  you — to  renew  in  you  the 
effaced  countenance  of  the  Father,  and  fill  your  heart  again 
with  the  blessed  fellowship  of  his  Spirit.  "  He  shall  con  - 
vince the  world  of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  him." 
The  sin  that  is  brought  home  to  us,  to  each  of  us,  to  you 
and  to  me,  is  our  own  sin — not  another's.  He  says  to  us: 
"  Look  around  upon  the  world's  ruin;  look  within,  at  the 
withered  glory  of  the  soul;  see  the  work  of  the  enemy; 
behold,  over  it  my  love,  like  a  Niobe  of  nations,  weeping, 
stoops  to  regenerate  it.  Through  agony  and  blood  I  have 
travailed  to  vidory.  The  work  is  done.  Come  and  share 
it  with  me."  Who  will  refuse?  What  can  make  us  re- 
fuse but  the  love  of  sin — the  sin  that  caused  his  death.? 

Is  not  this  a  simple  criterion?  Christ  finds  us  ruined 
Dy  sin — held  under  its  bondage;  he  comes  to  redeem  us, 
suffers  for  us,  conquers  for  us,  and  offers  us  the  fruit  of 
his  victory  freely  —  without  money,  and  without  price. 
"What  the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through 
the  flesh,  God  sending  his  own  Son,  in  the  likeness  of  sin- 
ful flesh,  and,  by  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the 
flesh."  (Rom.  viii :  3.)  And  now  to  refuse  him  as  our  sin- 
offering,  what  is  it  but  to  cleave  to  the  sin  which  he  has 
condemned?  And  is  not  this  sin  in  us?  Adam,  tempted, 
and  without  experience  of  the  damning  guilt  of  sin,  yielded 
to  the  fatal  fascination.  He  found  himself  naked,  stripped 
of  the  glory  that  had  covered  him  as  a  mantle,  and  shrank, 
abashed  at  his  own  deformity,  from  the  purity  and  beauty 
of  Paradise.  He  is  cast  out,  a  banished  exile  from  the 
presence  of  the  Father,  but  with  the  promise  of  deliver- 
ance. "The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  yet  bruise  the  ser- 
pent's head."  He  sold  the  life  of  Eden  for  the  knowl- 
edge of  good  and  evil,  and  received  the  penalty — death. 
In  the  fullness  of  time,  the  promised  seed  comes.  The 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


deliverance  is  achieved.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  sent  to  cal' 
us  to  accept  it.  A  free  return  to  the  tree  of  life  is  offered 
to  us  through  Christ,  and  we  refuse  it.  With  all  the  sad 
experience  of  six  thousand  years  under  sin,  we  deliberately 
adhere  to  the  choice  of  Adam.  JVe  repeat  his  a£i  in  our 
own  freedom.  We  say  to  Christ:  We  will  continue  as  we 
are,  hug  our  chains,  cling  to  our  bondage;  we  will  not 
come  back.  Adam  has  chosen,  we  abide  the  choice.  The 
tree  of  life  has  been  forfeited,  we  stand  by  the  result.  We 
despise  your  sufferings,  we  refuse  your  sacrifice.  We  will 
repeat  the  sin  of  the  first  Adam,  and  die,  rather  than  ac- 
cept the  sacrifice  of  the  second  Adam,  and  live.  O  friend, 
is  not  this  deeper  sin  than  that  which  brought  our  fall? 
Is  not  deliberate  and  conscious  sin  worse  than  tempted 
and  ignorant  impulse?  impenitence  and  ingratitude,  than 
passion  and  appetite?  "This  is  now  the  condemnation, 
that  light  has  come  into  the  world,  and  men  prefer  dark- 
ness to  light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil."  (John  iii:  19.) 
This  is  the  reproof  of  the  Paraclete,  that  Jesus  has  died 
and  risen  again,  and  men  will  not  believe  on  him. 

1.  He  shall  convince  the  world  of  righteousness.  This  is 
the  second  great  theme  of  the  Paraclete,  to  convince  the 
world  of  righteousness.  This  term  has  a  double  sense:  it 
points,  ^rj/,  to  the  personal  charafter  of  Christ;  second, 
to  his  representative  chara6ter.  In  both  these  respefts, 
Jesus  must  be  vindicated  before  the  world. 

His  personal  character  was  involved  in  two  charges. 
The  Jews  accused  him  of  blasphemy  and  treason;  blas- 
phemy, because  he  professed  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  and 
thus  made  himself  equal  with  God  (John  v:  18);  and 
treason,  because  he  claimed  to  be  a  King,  and  so  was  a 
rival  of  Caesar.  (John  xix:  12.)  The  refutation  of  these 
charges  was  easy.    The  great  argument  is  that  "  I  go  to  the 


W.  K.  PENDLETON. 


Father,"  If  I  am  not  the  Son  of  God,  the  Father  will  not 
receive  me;  if  I  am  not  King,  he  will  not  welcome  me 
to  the  throne.  He  will  not  acknowledge  an  imposter, 
nor  honor  a  pretender.  Condemned  before  Pilate,  I  ap 
peal  to  the  "King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only 
wise  God,  with  whom  are  honor  and  glory  forever  and 
ever."  (i  Tim.  i:  17.)  If  he  acquits,  who  shall  con- 
demn? "I  have  set  the  Lord  always  before  me:  because 
he  is  at  my  right  hand,  I  shall  not  be  moved.  Thou  wilt 
not  leave  my  soul  in  hell;  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine 
Holy  One  to  see  corruption."  (Psalms  xvi :  9—1 1.)  This 
was  the  sublime  confidence  with  which  Jesus  went  to  the 
bar  of  Pilate,  to  the  cross,  to  the  tomb,  to  the  judgment 
of  the  Father.  Who  shall  witness  the  trial,  and  report  to 
us  the  eternal  verdidl?  Human  witnesses  can  not  be  ad- 
mitted to  this  scene.  The  Paraclete  must  come,  and  the 
demonstration  must  be  worthy  of  the  sufferer. 

-This  is  the  first  great  theme  of  Pentecost.  Peter  makes 
it  the  prominent  point  in  his  first  argument.  The  mighty 
wonder  of  the  out-poured  Spirit  demonstrates  this: — 
"This  same  Jesus  whom  you  took,  and  with  wicked  hands 
crucified  and  slew,  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof  we  are  all 
witnesses:  him  hath  God  acknowledged  as  his  Son,  and 
exalted  to  the  throne,  saying,  '  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand, 
until  I  make  thy  foes  thy  footstool.'  Let  all  the  house  of 
Israel  know  assuredly  this,  that  God  hath  made  that  same 
Jesus  whom  you  have  crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ." 
(A6ts  ii:  32-36.)  Thus  is  he  vindicated  in  his  high  pre- 
tensions as  the  Son  of  God,  as  the  King  of  kings  and  the 
Lord  of  lords,  and  thus  is  the  personal  righteousness  of 
Jesus  proved  by  the  Spirit. 

But  there  is  another  sense,  in  which  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  is  of  deepest  interest  to  us.    As  a  matter  merely 


J20 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


personal  to  him,  his  righteousness  is,  indeed,  also  a  ques- 
tion of  vital  interest  to  us,  since  all  his  pretensions  as  our 
Savior  hang  upon  his  Divine  nature  and  official  grandeur 
as  both  the  Son  of  God,  and  King.  But,  in  connection 
with  his  representative  charader,  his  righteousness  has  a 
dearer  and  more  comforting  significance  to  us.  In  his 
manifestation  as  the  Son  of  God,  he  is  also  the  Son  of 
man.  "  The  word  was  made  flesh."  He  became  Imman-- 
uel,  God  with  us.  In  our  nature,  he  fulfilled  all  right- 
eousness. He  carried  humanity  successfully  through 
temptation,  through  suffering,  through  death,  and  through 
judgment,  up  to  the  very  throne  of  God.  He  demon- 
strated the  possibility  of  its  becoming  and  being  perfeft, 
"  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from  sin,  and  higher 
than  the  heavens."  This  knowledge  is  too  high  for  us. 
It  is  an  announcement  of  the  Paraclete,  one  of  the  com- 
forting things  which  the  Spirit  hath  heard  of  the  Father 
and  shown  unto  us,  a  revelation  of  the  superlative  and 
transcendent  grandeur  of  humanity  in  its  new  and  myste- 
rious union  with  Christ,  that  passes  all  understanding. 
Ineffable  honor,  that  thus  we  may  be  lifted  up  from  our 
degradation  and  ruin  to  the  honors  and  privileges  of 
heaven  ! 

"  Nearest  the  throne,  and  first  in  song, 
Man  shall  his  hallelujah  raise; 
While  wondering  angels  crowd  around. 
And  swell  the  chorus  of  his  praise." 

This  perfeft  righteousness  of  the  God-man  becomes, 
again,  the  sufficient  ground  of  our  justification.  "By  the 
sacrifices  of  the  law,  there  was  only  a  remembrance  of  sins 
again  from  year  to  year;  for  it  was  not  possible  that  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  should  take  away  sins :  but 


W.  K.  PENDLETON. 


321 


this  man,  after  he  had  made  one  sacrifice  for  sins  forever, 
sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God ;  from  henceforth  ex- 
pefting  till  his  enemies  be  made  his  footstool ;  for  by  one 
offering  he  hath  perfefted  forever  them  that  are  sandified." 
(Heb.  x:  3—14.)  Upon  the  altar  of  his  divinity,  he  of- 
fers the  sacrifice  of  a  perfedt  humanity,  and  is  made  of 
God  unto  us,  who  glory  not  in  the  flesh,  wisdom,  and 
righteousness,  and  sandlification,  and  redemption,  (i  Cor. 
i:  30.)  "He  shall  convince  the  world  of  righteousness, 
because  I  go  to  the  Father." 

3.  He  shall  convince  the  world  of  judgment.  If  there  were 
no  evidence  of  a  judgment,  there  would,  perhaps,  be  but 
little  respedl  for  law.  Man  is  so  perverted  by  sin  that  he 
has  but  little  resped:  for  authority  that  has  no  adequate 
sandlion  attached  to  its  commands.  But  here,  again,  the 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit  goes  at  once  to  the  root  of 
all  rebellion.  It  contemplates  man  as,  by  nature,  under 
the  power  of  the  wicked  one.  It  does  not  stop  to  inquire 
into  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  individuals  ;  but,  with  one 
sweeping  generalization,  involves  all  men  in  the  great  con- 
troversy with  Satan,  and  condemns  them  because  of  their 
relation  to  "the  Prince  of  this  world."  It  declares  to  us 
that  the  great  controversy  is  one  for  dominion.  By  the 
successful  temptation  of  the  Garden,  man  fell  under  the 
power  of  the  tempter.  Christ  comes  to  set  him  free. 
The  confli6t  is  not  with  man,  but  with  Satan  ;  that  tyran- 
nical prince,  under  whom  man  is  held  in  bondage.  His 
dominion  is  right,  or  it  is  wrong,  legitimate  or  usurped. 
If  it  is  right,  then  we  are  justified  in  adhering  to  it.  If 
it  is  wrong,  then  we  are  involved  in  its  guilt,  if  we  do  not 
forsake  it.  This  is  the  issue.  Jesus  makes  it,  and  Satan 
rises  in  all  the  might  of  a  last  desperate  struggle  to  meet  it. 
He  approaches  him  with  alluring  temptations  in  the  wil- 
21 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


derness;  lays  cunning  traps  for  him  in  tiie  opposition  of 
the  Jews  to  catch  him  in  his  words  ;  confronts  him  with 
demoniacal  possessions,  to  test  the  measure  of  his  power; 
and,  day  after  day,  month  after  month,  year  after  year, 
throws  around  him  the  cunning  meshes  of  his  strategy, 
till  he  brings  him  to  the  bar  of  Pilate,  with  specific  charges 
and  infuriated  witnesses.  The  power  of  hell  is  at  war 
with  the  Son  of  God.  The  final  issue  seems  to  hang  upon 
this  trial  before  Pilate.  The  conflid:  is  of  the  many  against 
the  one^  and  the  majority  carry  it.  Jesus  is  humiliated, 
mocked,  scourged,  condemned,  led  away  to  be  crucified, 
carrying  his  own  cross,  with  fainting  footsteps,  to  the 
summit  of  Calvary.  All  men  forsake  him.  He  "  looks, 
and  there  is  none  to  help;"  therefore,  "his  own  right  arm 
must  bring  salvation  to  him."  He  must  go  down  alone 
to  the  citadel  of  this  enemy.  "The  war  must  be  carried 
into  Carthage."  The  way  is  through  the  valley  of  death, 
and  the  stronghold  is  the  grave.  These  must  be  invaded  ; 
and  Jesus  enters  them,  not  as  a  strong  man,  prepared  for, 
battle,  but  with  tears,  and  bitter  cries  of  agony,  and  bur- 
den of  sin,  at  which  angels  gaze  with  mute  wonder,  and 
the  solid  earth  shudders  to  its  center.  Oh,  this  is  the 
moment  of  hell's  triumph  !  Through  its  fiery  caverns 
the  shout  of  demons  thunders:  ''Victory!  victory!  The 
Son  of  God  is  a  captive.  Let  captivity  rejoice,  and  hell 
flaunt  her  banners  over  the  fallen!" 

O,  thou  bleeding  Lamb  of  God,  thou  hast  not  fallen, 
but  stooped  to  conquer!  Thy  strength  returns  to  thee. 
Thine  arms  are  around  the  central  columns  of  this  temple 
of  Dagon.  Thy  mocking  enemies  are  within  the  crushing 
folds  of  thy  omnipotence.  Thou  canst  not  be  holden  of 
death.  Rise,  in  the  might  of  thy  power,  and  shake  off 
the  shackles  of  the  grave ;  burst  the  cerements  that  bind 


W,  K.  PENDLETON. 


3^3 


thee,  and,  as  thou  saidst  for  Lazarus,  so  for  thyself :  "  Come 
forth  !" 

Let  us  thank  God  that  he  did  not  suffer  his  Holy  One 
to  see  corruption,  but  that  he  "declared  him  to  be  his 
own  Son,  with  power,  according  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness, 
by  his  resurrcdion  from  the  dead."  (Rom.  i :  4.)  That 
in  his  final  conflid  he  gave  the  verdidt  in  his  favor,  and 
condemned  Satan,  with  an  everlasting  judgment,  to  "chains 
under  darkness^  to  be  kept  till  the  punishment  of  the  last 
day."  (Jude :  6.) 

And  now,  what  is  the  short  argument  of  the  Paraclete 
with  the  world?  Simply  this:  If  "the  Prince  of  this 
world  is  condemned  " — already  conquered,  subdued,  and 
in  chains — what  is  the  condition  of  ''the  world^"  who  still 
adhere  to  him?  Are  not  they  under  sentence  with  him, 
shut  up  in  the  fate  of  their  "  prince  ?"  Does  not  this 
argument  "stop  every  mouth,  and  subjed  all  the  world 
to  the  judgment  of  God?"  (Rom.  iii :  19.)  The  Spirit 
does  not  enter  into  a  personal  examination  of  the  moral 
character  of  each  man,  and  seek  the  ground  of  his  condem- 
nation in  his  personal  misdeeds  ;  but  he  raises  the  broad 
and  universal  question  :  Whom  serve  ye?  The  conquer- 
ing Son  of  God,  or  the  conquered  prince  of  the  world? 
These  are  the  two  powers.  With  which  do  you  stand  ? 
With  the  triumphant  soldiers  of  the  Cross,  or  the  broken 
columns  of  hell  ?  Is  not  this  a  plain  question  ?  Can 
not  all  men  answer  it  ?  Is  it  not  an  important  question? 
Should  not  all  men  consider  it?  Is  it  not  a  decisive  test 
of  loyalty  ?    Should  not  all  men  be  judged  by  it? 

And  now,  how  simple,  and  yet  how  comprehensive,  is 
the  ministry  of  the  Spirit.  In  his  great  plea  there  is  the 
one  supreme  end  ever  in  view — the  regeneration  of  the 
world.    In  all  his  work,  there  is  the  co-operation  of  the 


3^4 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Father  and  the  Son  ;  for,  "  while  there  are  diversities  of 
gifts,  it  is  the  same  Spirit ;  and  differences  of  administra- 
tion, it  is  the  same  Lord ;  and  diversities  of  operations, 
it  is  the  same  God,  which  worketh  all  in  all."  (i  Cor. 
xii :  4.,  7.)  In  his  manifestation  to  believers  and  to  the 
world,  he  maintains  sharply  the  distindion  between  a  heart 
cleansed  by  the  blood  of  Christ  and  reconciled  to  God, 
and  one  still  under  the  power  of  sin,  and  allied  to  Satan; 
entering  the  one  and  dwelling  in  it,  as  a  deity  in  a  temple, 
and  operating  upon  the  other  as  an  influence  from  without. 
In  his  operation  upon  the  world,  working  through  the  dis- 
ciples— to  whom  alone  he  is  sent — and  employing  words 
and  miracles,  truths  and  demonstrations,  to  convince  and 
reprove  them.  And  in  the  wide  breadth  of  his  plea,  com- 
prehending only  the  three  great  themes  of  sin,  righteous- 
ness, and  judgment:  "Sin,"  says  the  Savior,  "because 
they  believe  not  on  me ;  righteousness,  because  I  go  to 
the  F'ather ;  and  judgment,  because  the  Prince  of  this 
world  is  judged." 


Carroll  &  C?  BihlUhjEK,  Cmoiman.  0 


JOHN  W.  M'GARVEY. 


TT^EW  men  among  the  Disciples  have  obtained  a  more  enviable  reputa- 
tion,  and  enjoyed  more  generally  the  confidence  of  the  brethren,  than 
the  subjeft  of  this  notice.  Blessed  with  more  than  an  average  amount  of 
praftical  common  sense,  and  having  faithfully  done  his  duty  in  all  the  po- 
sitions he  has  occupied,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  should  now  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  safest  and  truest  men  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 

John  W.  M'Garvey  was  born  in  Hopkinsville,  Kentucky,  March  i, 
1829.  His  father  was  born  in  Ireland,  and,  when  grown,  came  to  Amer- 
ica, and  settled  at  Hopkinsville,  Kentucky,  where,  with  a  small  capital,  he 
went  into  the  dry-goods  business.  His  mother  was  a  Miss  Thomson,  of 
old  Virginia  stock,  and  was  born  and  reared  near  Georgetown,  Kentucky. 
In  1833,  his  father  died,  and,  some  time  after,  his  mother  was  married  to 
Dr.  G.  F.  Saltonstall. 

In  1839,  the  family  removed  to  Tremont,  Tazewell  County,  Illinois, 
where  he  was  trained  to  industry  by  his  step-father,  and  thoroughly  in- 
strufted  in  primary  and  academic  branches  by  Mr.  James  K.  Kellogg,  a 
successful  educator  of  that  place.  In  April,  1847,  he  entered  the  Fresh- 
man Class  of  Bethany  College.  While  at  college  he  made  the  good  con- 
fession, and  was  immersed,  by  Professor  Pendleton,  in  April,  1848.  So 
soon  as  he  became  a  Christian,  he  determined  to  devote  his  life  to  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  gave  very  conclu- 
sive evidence  of  fitness  for  the  work.  In  July,  1850,  he  graduated  as  one 
of  the  honor  men,  delivering  the  Greek  speech,  and  receiving  marked 
tokens  from  the  faculty  of  their  high  appreciation  of  his  scholarship. 

Meantime,  his  family  had  removed  to  Fayette,  Missouri,  at  which  place, 
soon  after  leaving  college,  he  taught  a  male  school  for  ten  months.  In 
June,  1851,  his  step-father  died  of  cholera,  while  on  his  way  to  attend  the 
commencement  of  Bethany  College.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of  the  college, 
and  gave  it  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  while  living,  and  left  it  a  child's 
part  in  his  estate. 

At  the  call  of  the  Church  in  Fayette,  Brother  M'Garvey  gave  up  his 
school,  and,  in  September,  1851,  was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  minis- 

(325) 


326 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


try,  and  afterward  preached  for  the  Church  at  Fayette  and  neighboring 
county  churches  until  February,  1853,  when  he  removed  to  Dover,  Lafay- 
ette County,  Missouri.  In  March,  1853,  he  was  married  to  Ottie  F.  Hix, 
of  Fayette. 

He  resided  at  Dover  nine  years,  and,  during  this  period,  he  spent  about 
half  of  the  time  at  home,  and,  the  remainder,  preaching  extensively  over 
the  State  of  Missouri,  holding  five  public  debates  with  various  religious  par- 
ties; he  also  collefled  money  to  eredl  a  boarding-school  in  his  village,  and 
condufted  the  school  two  years. 

In  the  spring  of  1862,  he  accepted  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Church  in 
Lexington,  Kentucky,  where  a  large  field  of  usefulness  was  open  to  him. 
During  the  same  year  he  published  his  "Commentary  on  Afts,"  which  had 
occupied  all  the  time  he  could  devote  to  it  for  three  and  a  half  years.  This 
is  a  work  of  decided  merit,  and  at  once  fixes  his  reputation  as  a  fine  Biblical 
scholar. 

On  the  removal  of  Kentucky  University  to  Lexington,  in  1865,  he  ac- 
cepted a  chair  in  the  College  of  the  Bible,  with  the  understanding  that 
only  a  small  portion  of  his  time  was  to  be  devoted  to  teaching,  such  as 
would  not  materially  interfere  with  his  labors  in  the  Church.  Under  his 
ministry,  the  Church  had  reached  a  remarkable  degree  of  prosperity,  and 
his  labors  were  highly  appreciated  by  the  entire  congregation.  But,  finding 
that  his  whole  time  was  needed  in  the  university,  in  1866,  he  resigned  his 
charge  of  the  Church ;  but,  as  the  Church  has  not  succeeded  in  obtaining  the 
regular  services  of  a  suitable  man,  he  has  not  yet  been  relieved.  President 
Graham,  however,  now  shares  the  labor  of  preaching  with  him. 

Brother  M'Garvey  is  a  little  below  medium  size,  has  dark  hair,  light 
hazel  eyes,  and  a  very  youthful  appearance  for  one  of  his  age.  He  is  very 
strift  and  regular  in  his  habits,  and  this  faft  explains  why  it  is  that  he  has 
been  able  to  accomplish  so  much  mental  labor  without  impairing  his  health. 

That  which  most  distinguishes  him  as  a  writer  and  speaker  is  clearness ; 
there  is  never  the  slightest  confusion  in  his  ideas.  He  has  very  little  im- 
agination, and  relies  almost  exclusively  on  fa£ls  for  effedt.  His  mind  is 
well  stored  with  these,  and,  in  the  construftion  and  management  of  an 
argument,  he  uses  them  with  great  ease  and  success.  In  debate  he  is  one 
of  the  safest  and  ablest  men  among  the  Disciples,  and  not  the  least  source 
of  power  here  is  his  remakable  coolness — he  is  never  thrown  off  his  guard. 

As  a  teacher,  he  has  very  few  superiors.  Knowledge  is  what  a  stu- 
dent needs;  hence,  the  matter-of-fa£i  man  is  always  the  best  teacher — all 
other  things  being  equal.  But  Brother  M'Garvey  is  also  an  excellent 
preacher,  and,  as  a  pastor,  has  been  eminently  successful.  He  has  a  kind, 
generous  nature,  but  is  not  very  demonstrative.  He  attends  striftly  to  his 
own  business. 


THE  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


BY  J.  W.  M'GARVEY. 


"  The  Spirit  itself  bears  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  children 
of  God." — Rom.  viii:  i6. 

IN  order  to  our  eternal  happiness,  we  must  become 
children  of  God.  In  order  to  our  happiness  in  time, 
we  must  know  that  we  are  such.  He  who  is  in  doubt 
on  this  subjeft,  must  be  not  less  unhappy  than  he  who 
knows  he  is  not  a  child  of  God.  Indeed,  the  advantage 
is  on  the  part  of  the  latter;  for  he  is  likely  to  cast  the 
subjed  out  of  his  thoughts,  and  put  off  the  evil  day  to 
the  last;  but  the  very  fad:  of  being  in  doubt  supposes  a 
man  to  be  awakened  upon  the  subjed,  and  to  have  made 
some  efforts  to  become  a  child  of  God,  but  such  efforts 
as  leave  him  still  uncertain  whether  his  sins,  which  he 
mourns,  are  adually  forgiven.  His  soul  hangs  in  trem- 
bling suspense;  now  thrilled  with  hope,  the  more  ecstatic 
from  its  very  uncertainty,  and  now  sunk  to  the  very  verge 
of  despair.  Such  is  the  experience  of  thousands  of  the 
orthodox  worshipers  of  to-day.  They  never  attain  to 
more  than  a  "hope"  that  they  are  born  again;  and  to 
often  entertain  serious  doubts,  is  the  best  evidence  that 
this  hope  is  well  grounded.  To  hear  a  man  express  him- 
self with  confidence,  would  be  to  them  a  ground  for  sus- 

(327) 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


picion  that  he  was  self-deceived.  Their  religious  enjoy- 
ment fluduates  with  the  phases  of  their  hope;  and  there 
are  no  songs  more  popular  than  those  which  give  expres- 
sion to  these  fludluations.  What  else  has  given  popularity 
to  these  familiar  lines  : 

"How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours. 

When  Jesus  no  longer  I  see ; 
Sweet  prospedls,  sweet  birds,  and  sweet  flowers. 

Have  all  lost  their  sweetness  to  me. 
The  midsummer  sun  shines  but  dim. 

The  fields  strive  in  vain  to  look  gay; 
But  when  I  am  happy  in  him, 

December 's  as  pleasant  as  May." 

Or,  why  else  should  men,  professing  to  be  Christians 
ever  sing  these  doleful  strains  : 

"'Tis  a  point  I  long  to  know; 
Oft  it  causes  anxious  thought: 
Do  I  love  the  Lord,  or  no ; 
Am  I  his,  or  am  I  not?" 

How  unutterable  must  be  the  distress,  at  times,  of  men 
who  can  sing  these  songs  with  the  spirit  and  the  under- 
standing! And  yet,  so  common  is  this  experience,  that 
men  look  upon  it  as  the  common  heritage  of  those  who 
obey  Christ.  I  dropped  in  one  night  at  a  protraded 
meeting,  and  heard  the  preacher  addressing  a  company 
of  some  thirty  young  converts.  He  was  warning  them 
against  certain  sins  and  temptations  which  they  must  ex- 
ped;  to  encounter,  and,  among  others,  against  what  he 
called  the  '■'■sin  of  despair.''  He  defined  it  about  thus: 
"The  time  will  often  come,  my  young  friends,  when  you 
will  seriously  doubt  whether  you  have  ever  been  born 
again.    I  suppose  I  can  appeal  to  the  experience  of  every 


J.  W.  M'GARVEY. 


329 


Christian  in  the  house  to-night  for  proof  of  this.  All  of 
us  experience  seasons  when  we  hang  our  harps  on  the  wil- 
lows all  the  day  long,  and  can  not  sing  the  songs  of  Zion. 
When  these  seasons  come  over  you,  beware  lest  you  give 
up  in  despair,  and  turn  away  again  to  the  weak  and  beg- 
garly elements  of  the  world."  I  could  but  feel  pain  that 
such  a  prospedt  should  be  held  out  before  young  Chris- 
tians, and  1  wondered  if  this  is  the  unhappy  lot  which  our 
heavenly  Father  has  assigned  us. 

Turn  to  the  Bible,  and  let  us  see  whether  there  is  not 
something  better  within  our  reach  than  this  limping  and 
halting  gait  at  which  the  people  go.  The  experience  of 
David  is  that  which  most  of  all  gives  shape  to  our  mod- 
ern religion,  and  just  as  you  might  expedl,  here  you  find 
the  very  fluduations  of  hope  and  despair  which  we  have 
described.  Hear  him,  in  the  Twenty-third  Psalm :  "The 
Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I  shall  not  want.  He  malceth  me 
to  lie  down  in  green  pastures  :  he  leadeth  me  beside  the 
still  waters.  He  restoreth  my  soul.  Yea,  though  I  walk 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no 
evil:  for  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  they  com- 
fort me!'  What  exultation  and  confidence  are  here !  Who 
that  had  listened  to  these  strains,  could,  for  a  moment, 
imagine  that  the  same  heart  and  lips  gave  utterance  to  the 
following  plaintive  notes:  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me.''  Why  art  thou  so  far  from  helping  me, 
and  from  the  words  of  my  roaring  ?  O,  my  God,  I  cry 
in  the  day-time,  but  thou  hearest  not;  and  in  the  night 
season,  and  am  not  silent."  Yet,  these  are  David's  feel- 
ings as  expressed  in  the  Psalm  next  preceding  the  one  just 
quoted.  Truly,  our  modern  experiences  have  at  least  one 
model  in  the  Word  of  God.  But  David  lived  in  a  darker 
dispensation,  when  the  sun  of  righteousness  had  not  yet 


330 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


risen  and  thrown  his  bright  light  upon  the  world.  When 
you  turn  from  his  to  the  experience  of  the  apostles,  you 
find  all  the  difference  that  there  is  between  the  uncer- 
tain shadows  of  twilight,  and  the  clear  light  of  noonday. 
Where  do  you  read  of  Paul,  or  Peter,  or  James,  or  John 
expressing  any  doubt  as  to  their  relations  to  God?  Not 
one  single  note  of  uncertainty  can  be  found  in  all  their 
writings.  On  the  contrary,  you  hear  Paul  declare:  "We 
are  always  confident;  knowing  that  while  we  are  at  home  in 
the  body,  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord.  We  are  confi- 
dent, I  say,  and  willing  rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body, 
and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord."  (2  Cor.  v:  6—8.)  To 
the  Romans  he  says:  "  Being  then  made  free  from  sin,  you 
became  the  servants  of  righteousness."  To  the  Ephesians : 
"In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the 
forgiveness  of  sins."  And  to  the  Thessalonians :  "Know- 
ing, brethren,  beloved,  your  eleftion  of  God."  Here  all 
is  the  language  of  confidence,  of  certainty.  And  so  with 
the  other  apostles.  Peter  does  not  look  upon  the  eledlion 
of  his  brethren  as  a  mystery  that  can  not  be  solved  in  life, 
and  that  never  can  be  certainly  known  till  the  judgment; 
but  he  writes,  in  tones  of  confidence,  to  strangers  scattered 
throughout  the  provinces,  as  being  "  Ele6t  according  to 
the  foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father,  through  sandifica- 
tion  of  the  Spirit  unto  obedience  and  the  sprinkling  of 
the  blood  of  Christ."  And  John  exclaims :  "  Beloved,  we 
are  now  the  sons  of  God :  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we 
shall  be,  but  we  know  that  when  he  shall  appear  we  shall 
be  like  him:  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

Now,  the  secret  of  all  this  confidence  on  the  part  of  the 
apostles  and  early  Christians,  is  found  in  the  passage  be- 
fore us:  "The  Spirit  itself  bears  witness  with  our  spirit 
that  we  are  children  of  God."    If  the  spirit  of  God  testi- 


J.  W.  M'GARVEY. 


fied  to  the  fact,  how  could  they  doubt  it?  No  wonder, 
that  with  such  testimony,  they  were  always  confident.  But, 
then,  you  remind  me,  that  our  doubters  of  modern  times 
are  the  very  men  with  whom  this  passage  is  the  greatest  fav- 
orite. In  the  midst  of  all  their  doubts  and  conflids,  these 
woids  are  constantly  on  their  lips.  Even  the  preacher,  of 
whom  I  spoke  as  addressing  some  young  converts,  had, 
just  before  that  speech,  made  them  all  believe  that  they 
had  the  witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  itself,  bearing  witness 
with  their  spirits  that  they  were  children  of  God.  Yet  he 
was  then  telling  them  that  they  would  be  certain,  in  many 
future  days,  to  doubt  this  testimony  of  the  Spirit.  What 
was  the  trouble  with  the  man?  Could  he  and  his  young 
converts  really  doubt  what  the  Spirit  of  God  would  testify 
to  ?  I  suppose  not.  And  yet,  they  are  full  of  doubt  while 
dwelling  upon  and  relying  upon  the  very  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture which  gave  the  apostles  their  unwavering  confidence. 
What  clearer  proof  could  we  possibly  have  that  their  un- 
derstanding of  the  passage  is  different  from  that  held  by 
the  apostles.  And  how  do  they  understand  it?  Why,  in 
the  process  of  their  conversion,  they  have  experienced  cer- 
tain emotions,  whicJi  they  are  taught  to  believe  are  the  re- 
sult of  a  dired:  impact  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  their  spirits, 
and  which  they  understand  as  the  testimony  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  bears  to  them  that  they  are  children  of  God. 
But  the  trouble  is,  that  they  can  never  be  altogether  cer- 
tain that  it  was  the  Holy  Spirit  which  they  felt.  Some- 
times they  feel  as  if  it  certainly  must  have  been ;  and  some- 
times they  fear  that  it  was  merely  the  workings  of  their 
own  spirit,  mistaken  for  those  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Thus 
they  are  tossed  to  and  fro  upon  the  waves  of  doubt,  while 
the  ghostly  experience,  like  a  spefter  in  the  distance,  be- 
comes dimmer  and  dimmer  as  time  removes  farther  away, 


33^ 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


and  the  shadows  of  failing  memory  fall  upon  it.  Tne 
Lord  deliver  us  from  such  uncertainty,  and  lead  us  into 
the  clear  light  that  shone  upon  the  path  of  the  early  dis- 
ciples ! 

It  is  easy  to  see  the  sense  in  which  the  apostles  under- 
stood this  passage,  or,  rather,  the  sense  in  which  Paul  used 
it.  He  supposes  an  individual  asking  himself  the  ques- 
tion, "Am  I  a  child  of  God?"  and  sitting  down  deliber- 
ately to  find  the  answer.  Now,  this  is  a  question  of  fad, 
and  is  to  be  determined,  like  any  other  question  of  fadl, 
by  competent  evidence.  Further,  it  depends  upon  two 
other  fads:  ist.  What  charader  constitutes  a  child  of 
God  ?  2d.  What  charader  have  I  ?  If  I  can  learn  with 
certainty  what  a  man  must  do  and  be,  in  order  to  be 
adopted  into  the  family  of  God,  and  then  ascertain,  with 
equal  certainty,  what  I  have  done  and  what  I  am  in  those 
particulars,  the  question  is  settled.  If  what  I  am,  and 
what  a  child  of  God  is,  are  the  same,  then  I  am  certainly 
a  child  of  God.  If  they  are  different,  then  I  am  certainly 
not  a  child  of  God,  and  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  mat- 
ter either  way. 

Each  of  these  subordinate  questions  is  to  be  settled  by 
evidence,  and  the  witnesses  are  named  by  the  apostle  in 
the  passage.  The  first  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  is  the 
only  competent  witness  whose  testimony  we  have  on  the 
first  question ;  for  the  question  as  to  what  charader  a  man 
must  have  to  be  a  child  of  God,  depends  entirely  upon 
the  will  of  God;  for  "  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man, 
but  the  Spirit  of  God,"  and  "the  Spirit  searches  all  things, 
even  the  deep  things  of  God."  The  apostles  had  heard 
Jesus  testify;  but  he  had  not  told  them  all  the  truth;  nor 
could  they,  with  certainty,  remember  all  that  he  had  said. 
It  was  left  for  the  Spirit  to  bring  to  memory  all  that  Jesus 


J.  W.  M'GARVEY, 


333 


had  spoken,  and  to  lead  them  into  all  the  truth.  Upon 
the  Spirit,  then,  they  depended  for  all  their  knowledge  of 
the  will  of  God.  If  they  wished  to  know  what  constitutes 
one  a  child  of  God,  they  learned  it  from  the  testimony  of 
the  Spirit.  They  had  no  other  way  to  learn  it,  and  no  other 
way  was  needed,  for  this  was  infallible.  What  they  learned 
thus,  they  spoke  with  equal  infallibility  to  the  world. 
"  God  has  revealed  these  things  to  us  through  his  Spirit," 
says  Paul ;  "  which  things  we  also  speak  ;  not  in  words 
which  man's  wisdom  teaches,  but  in  words  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  teaches."  Others,  then,  heard  the  testimony  of  the 
Spirit  through  the  lips  of  those  inspired  men,  and  in  this 
they  heard  the  very  words  of  the  Spirit.  These  words, 
again,  were  written  down,  so  that  those  who  had  not  the 
opportunity  of  hearing  the  living  voice  of  the  apostles 
might  have  the  same  words  in  writing,  and  suffer  no  dis- 
advantage, as  compared  with  those  who  first  heard  them. 
We  stand  in  the  position  of  this  last  class.  We  have  no 
testimony  of  the  Spirit  by  inspiration  of  our  own  minds, 
neither  have  we  the  living  voice  of  inspired  men  to  inform 
us  ;  but  we  have,  what  is  just  equal  to  this  in  value,  the 
written  depositions  of  the  Spirit  of  God;  and  these  tes- 
tify, in  unmistakable  terms,  what  a  man  must  do  to  be  a 
child  of  God. 

Lest  some  one  should  doubt  whether  it  is  scriptural  to 
represent  the  statements  of  the  Scriptures  as  the  testimony 
of  the  Spirit,  listen  to  a  few  examples  of  Scripture  usage. 
Nehemiah,  in  the  prayer  of  the  Levites,  uses  this  language 
in  reference  to  God's  dealings  with  the  children  of  Israel: 
"  Yet  many  years  didst  thou  forbear  them,  and  testijiedst 
against  them  by  thy  Spirit  in  thy  prophets."  Peter  says  the 
old  prophets  searched  "what  or  what  manner  of  time  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  it 


334 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory 
that  should  follow."  And,  still  more  to  the  point,  in  the 
tenth  of  Hebrews,  Paul,  after  stating  that  "  by  one  offer- 
ing Christ  has  perfedted  forever  them  that  are  sanctified," 
says:  "  Of  this  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  witness  to  us;"  and  im- 
mediately quotes  a  passage  from  the  31st  chapter  of  Jere- 
miah as  the  Spirit's  testimony.  These  passages  show  that 
the  Spirit's  communications  to  the  inspired  men  them- 
selves— those  made  through  them  to  living  cotempora- 
ries,  and  the  same  when  written  down  for  the  instrudion 
of  future  ages — are  all  alike  regarded  and  treated  as  the 
testimony  of  the  Spirit.  Paul,  in  the  passage  we  are  dis- 
cussing, had  reference,  no  doubt,  to  all  these  forms  of 
testimony,  for  his  language  is  unrestric5led,  and,  therefore, 
includes  all  the  testimony  that  the  Spirit  has  given  on  the 
subjeft  in  hand.  But  to  us,  the  reference  must  be  pradli- 
cally  limited  to  the  written  testimony,  for  this  is  all  we 
have. 

The  whole  matter  of  the  Spirit's  testimony  resolves 
itself  into  this:  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  the  Scrip- 
tures, testifies  that  men  who  pass  through  certain  changes, 
and  maintain,  afterward,  a  certain  charader,  are  children 
of  God.  Whatever  may  be  men's  theories  of  spiritual 
influence,  you  will  find  no  believer  in  the  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures  who  will  deny  that  the  Spirit  does  thus  tes- 
tify, or  who  will  affirm  that  he  communicates  ideas  on  this 
subjedl  in  any  other  way.  And  when  you  come  to  the 
details  of  the  testimony  itself — whatever  may  be  men's 
theories  of  conversion — you  will  find  few  to  deny  that  the 
man  who  believes  with  all  his  heart  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  really  repents  of  his  sins,  and  who  is  really 
baptized,  becomes  a  child  of  God.  Some  will  insist  that 
baptism  is  no  part  of  the  process;  but  none  will  deny  that 


J.  W.  M'GARVEY. 


335 


the  true  believer,  when  truly  penitent  and  truly  baptized, 
is  a  child  of  God.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  unquestionea 
testimony  of  the  Spirit  describing  a  certain  charader,  who, 
unquestionably,  becomes  a  child  of  God. 

But,  when  a  man  has  heard  this  testimony  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  he  is  not  yet  quite  ready  to  say  whether  he  him- 
self is,  or  is  not,  a  child  of  God.  There  is  another  wit- 
ness yet  to  be  examined  before  a  conclusion  can  be  reached, 
and  though  his  testimony  is  given  so  briefly  and  so  silently 
as  to  be  sometimes  overlooked,  it  is,  on  this  account,  none 
the  less  indispensable.  This  witness  is  your  own  spirit. 
He  is  the  only  witness  who  can  tell  you,  with  certainty, 
whether  you  have  believed  with  all  the  heart,  or  whether 
you  have  really,  through  sorrow  for  sin,  turned  away  from 
it.  And  still  further,  in  the  present  distradled  condition 
of  the  public  mind  on  the  subjedl  of  baptism,  your  own 
soul  must  testify  for  itself — as  it  will  answer  to  God  in 
the  great  day — whether  you  have  been  really  baptized. 

In  respedl  to  our  own  spirit's  testimony,  especially,  have 
our  friends  of  the  religious  parties  generally  misunder- 
stood this  passage  of  Scripture.  They  understand  the 
text  as  if  it  read:  "The  Spirit  itself  bears  witness  to  our 
spirit  that  we  are  children  of  God."  This  would  make 
but  one  witness,  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  Paul  has  two  wit- 
nesses, for  he  says:  "The  Spirit  itself  bears  witness  with 
our  spirit."  This  is  an  exadt  translation  of  the  Greek. 
Now,  when  I  testify  ta  my  brother,  there  is  but  one  wit- 
ness ;  but  when  1  testify  with  him,  he  and  I  are  both 
witnesses,  and  my  testimony  agrees  with  his.  This  is 
just  Paul's  idea.  The  Holy  Spirit  itself  bears  testimony 
which  agrees  with  the  testimony  of  our  own  spirit,  that 
we  are  children  of  God.  The  point  of  agreement  is  just 
this,  that  the  charafter  which  the  Holy  Spirit  asserts  to 


338 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


witnesses  brought  together  in  the  stridl  logical  connexion 
which  Paul,  in  our  text,  makes  them  assume.  Usually  the 
writer  alludes  to  but  one  of  them  at  a  time,  presuming  upon 
the  reader's  acquaintance  with  the  other.  One  or  two,  out 
of  many  instances,  will  suffice  for  illustration  of  this  state- 
ment. Paul  says  to  the  Corinthians:  "Examine  your- 
selves, whether  you  are  in  the  faith."  But  how  could  they 
decide,  by  examining  themselves,  without  some  standard 
by  which  to  judge  themselves  ?  This  standard  is  furnished 
in  the  Spirit's  testimony,  and  the  disciples  were  well  ac- 
quainted with  it.  Again,  John  says:  "Hereby  we  know 
that  he  abides  in  us,  by  the  Spirit  which  he  has  given  us." 
But  no  man  knows  that  he  has  the  Holy  Spirit,  except  by 
its  fruits,  as  they  are  developed  in  his  life ;  and  for  a  knowl- 
edge of  these  he  is  dependent  on  the  testimony  of  his  own 
spirit.  In  every  view  of  the  subjedl,  you  find  a  continual 
necessity  for  the  testimony  of  both  the  witnesses,  and  you 
always  find  their  testimony  sufficient  to  set  the  mind  at 
rest,  or  to  make  the  soul  feel  the  certainty  of  its  orphaned 
or  its  alienated  estate. 

And  now,  sinner — poor,  wandering  sinner — would  you 
be  a  child  of  God,  and  an  heir  of  glory?  The  way  is  be- 
fore you.  It  is  no  uncertain  way.  I  call  you  not  to  dreams 
and  airy  visions,  but  to  the  highway  of  the  Lord,  where 
your  feet,  at  every  step,  will  tread  upon  a  rock ;  where  the 
clear  light  of  heaven  will  shine  on  your  path;  or,  if  the 
tempest  beat  upon  you,  you  may  never  lose  your  way. 
You  have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  are  no  longer  worthy 
to  be  called  a  son  of  God,  yet  he  will  receive  you,  he  will 
fold  you  to  his  arms  like  a  tender,  forgiving  parent,  and 
the  tears  of  your  penitence  will  drown  all  your  sorrow, 
and  melt  away  into  eternal  peace.  God  help  you  to  come, 
and  to  come  without  delay. 


I 


I 


B.  W.  Caicoll  &  Co.Pulliileis.Ciiidffliaii.,  0 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


TT  may  be  safely  affirmed,  that  no  preacher  among  the  Disciples  is  more 
generally  known  than  the  subjedt  of  this  sketch.  He  has  been  so  long 
connefted  with  the  Press,  and  has  traveled  so  extensively,  that  wherever, 
among  Christians,  the  Bible  alone  is  the  rule  of  faith  and  praftice,  there  the 
name  of  Benjamin  Franklin  is  as  familiar  as  household  gods. 

He  was  born  in  Belmont  County,  Ohio,  February  ist,  1812.  His  early 
religious  training  was  according  to  the  Methodist  faith,  though  he  never 
belonged  to  any  church  until  he  united  with  the  Disciples.  In  the  year 
1836,  when  he  was  about  twenty-four  years  of  age,  he  was  immersed,  near 
Middletovvn,  Henry  County,  Indiana,  by  Elder  Samuel  Rogers,  then  ex- 
tensively known  as  one  of  the  most  successful  pioneer  preachers  of  the 
current  reformation. 

Soon  after  his  obedience  to  the  Gospel,  Brother  Franklin  began  to 
preach  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  has  been  engaged  aftively  in  the  work 
ever  since.  During  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  ministry,  his  labors  were 
chiefly  confined  to  Eastern  Indiana,  where  he  was  instrumental  in  establish- 
ing many  churches,  and  scattering  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom  generally. 
He  next  labored  extensively  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky  ;  and,  of  late  years,  has 
traveled  and  preached  in  more  than  half  the  States  of  the  Union,  as  well  as 
portions  of  Canada.  Under  his  personal  ministry,  about  eight  thousand 
persons  have  obeyed  the  Gospel;  which  speaks  more  for  his  zeal,  industry, 
and  fitness  for  his  work,  than  any  thing  else  that  could  be  said.  He  is  most 
at  home  in  the  general  field;  possesses  little  adaptation  to  pastoral  work; 
and,  in  this  department  of  labor,  has  met  with  little  success.  He  has  held 
some  twenty-five  public  discussions,  five  of  which  have  been  published, 
and  had  considerable  sale.  This  fa£l  would  seem  to  indicate  that  he  takes 
delight  in  controversy ;  but  it  should  be  remembered,  that  his  method  of 
working  is  well  calculated  to  place  him  frequently  in  positions  where  he 
can  not  consistently  avoid  collision  with  the  religious  parties  of  the  land. 
And,  when  he  thinks  it  necessary,  he  never  hesitates  to  "  contend  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  Saints."    That  he  is  particularly  averse 

(339) 


340 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


to  discussion,  need  not  be  affirmed;  but  that  he  loves  discussion  for  discus- 
sion's sake,  may  be  successfully  denied.  He  has  lived  and  labored  through 
the  stormy  period  of  the  Reformation,  when  a  great  deal  of  unpleasant  work 
had  to  be  done ;  and  he  has  never  shrunk  from  any  duty  because  it  was  not 
calculated  to  polish  him,  and  fit  him  for  the  elegant  walks  of  life.  He  has 
evidently  been  deeply  in  earnest  in  the  work  committed  to  his  hands ;  and, 
consequently,  has  had  little  time  for  anything  but  work — constant,  laborious 
WORK.  He  is  emphatically  a  self-made  man,  and  has  had  to  labor  to  his 
present  position  through  most  discouraging  poverty. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1 843,  he  began  his  editorial  career — taking  charge 
of  the  "  Reformer,"  a  monthly  of  sixteen  pages,  published  from  Centre- 
ville,  Indiana.  This  he  continued  to  publish  for  about  seven  years ;  the 
last  three  from  Milton,  Indiana,  He  then  removed  to  Cincinnati,  and 
formed  a  partnership  with  D.  S.  Burnet,  by  which  they  published,  jointly, 
the  "Reformer"  and  "Christian  Age,"  for  one  year.  The  two  papers 
were  afterward  consolidated,  and  Franklin  was  employed  as  editor ;  which 
position  he  held  for  nearly  three  years.  During  the  next  two  years,  he 
published  the  "American  Christian  Review"  as  a  monthly.  He  then  came 
into  possession  of  the  "Christian  Age,"  and  commenced  the  publication  of 
the  "Review"  as  a  weekly,  which  paper  is  now  condudled  under  the  style 
of  "  Franklin  &  Rice,"  and  has  an  extensive  circulation,  and  several  assist- 
ant editors. 

Brother  Franklin  is  about  six  feet  high ;  has  bold,  strong  features,  large 
gray  eye,  prominent  mouth,  well-developed  chest  and  lungs,  and  weighs 
about  two  hundred  and  ten  pounds.  His  whole  physical  and  mental  or- 
ganization indicates  that  he  is  capable  of  an  immense  amount  of  work;  and 
this  is  shown  to  be  the  faft  in  the  aftive,  laborious  life  he  has  lived.  As  a 
writer,  he  lays  no  claim  to  elegance,  his  articles  too  frequently  bearing  un- 
mistakable marks  of  haste  in  their  preparation.  But  he  is  generally  forcible, 
and,  as  a  writer  for  the  masses,  has  been  quite  successful.  He  has  written 
a  number  of  trafts,  all  of  which  have  been  very  popular;  and  the  one  en- 
titled "Sincerity  Seeking  the  Way  to  Heaven,"  has  had  the  largest  sale  of 
any  traft  ever  published  by  the  Disciples. 

He  speaks  very  much  as  he  writes;  or,  rather,  he  writes  very  much  as 
he  speaks,  for  his  extemporaneous  style  in  speaking  charafterizes  all  that  he 
writes.  He  does  not  depend  upon  either  elocution  or  rhetoric  for  effeft, 
but  upon  the  power  of  the  truth,  which  he  presents  to  the  people.  He 
speaks  as  if  he  believed  what  he  says.  There  is  no  hesitating — -no  doubting 
in  his  manner.  And  as  he  illustrates  and  simplifies  every  thing,  so  all  can 
understand  him,  his  preaching  carries  conviftion  to  all  honest  hearts.  Be- 
fore a  popular  audience,  he  exerts  a  wonderful  power. 


THE  CHURCH— ITS  IDENTITY. 


BY  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


*'  But  we  think  it  right  to  hear  from  you  what  you  think :  for,  as  it  re- 
spefts  this  seft,  we  know  that  it  is  every-where  spoken  against." — Acts 
XXVIII :  22.    (^Anderson's  Translation.^ 

THE  Lord  says,  in  Matt,  xvi:  i8,  referring  to  the 
confession  Peter  had  made:  "On  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  Church."  My  work,  in  this  discourse,  will 
be  to  define  and  identify  the  community  styled  by  the 
Savior  "my  Church."  This  is  evidently  the  same  com- 
munity styled  "this  se6t"  in  my  text.  The  former  is 
the  Lord's  way  of  speaking  of  the  body  in  view,  and 
the  latter  the  way  men,  not  in  the  community,  and  not 
understanding  it,  or  its  position,  but  owing  it  no  ill-will, 
spoke  of  it.  This  language  comes  from  "the  chief  men 
of  the  Jews,"  as  we  learn  from  verse  seventeen.  That 
which  our  Lord  calls  "my  Church,"  they  call  "this  sed." 
Those  "chief  men  of  the  Jews"  regarded  the  body,  or 
Church,  merely  as  a  "  sed,"  or  fadion,  and  certainly  a  very 
unpopular  one,  as  it  was  "every-where  spoken  against." 

This  word  "sed,"  is  never  used  in  a  good  sense  in  the 
New  Testament;  nor  is  the  original  word  from  which  it 
comes.  Hairesis,  the  original  word  from  which  we  have 
"sed,"  occurs  nine  times  in  the  New  Testament,  and  is 

(341) 


342 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


translated  "sed"  five  times,  and  "heresies"  four  times 
We  read  of  damnable  heresies  [i  Pet,  ii :  i),  and  find  heresies 
put  down  with  "  the  works  of  the  flesh  "  (Gal.  v :  20) ;  and 
find  the  statement  added,  verse  twenty-one,  "that  those 
who  practice  such  things  (as  heresies)  shall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God."  Heresy  is  ranked  with  "lewdness, 
uncleanness,  wantonness,  idolatry,  sorcery,"  etc.  In  the 
speech  of  Tertullus,  accusing  Paul  (Adls  xxiv:  5),  he 
charges  him  with  being  a  ringleader  of  the  "se6l"  of  the 
Nazarenes.  Verse  fourteen,  same  chapter,  we  find  Paul's 
reply,  in  which  he  says:  "After  the  way  which  they  call 
se6l,  so  do  I  worship  the  God  of  my  fathers."  He  does 
not  admit  that  the  body  with  which  he  was  identified  was 
a  sedl,  but  that  it  was  called  a  se5l.  We  can  not,  there- 
fore, speak  of  a  "  Christian  sed,"  or  call  the  Church  a  sedl, 
without  as  great  an  impropriety  as  to  speak  of  a  Christian 
heresy,  or  call  the  Church  a  heresy. 

There  is  a  community  called,  in  the  New  Testament, 
"the  kingdom  of  God"  (John  iii:  3) ;  "the  Church  of  the 
living  God"  (i  Tim.  iii:  15);  "one  body"  (Eph.  iv:  4). 

To  be  in  this  body.  Church,  or  kingdom,  is  the  same 
as  to  be  "in  Christ."  It  is  to  be  in  a  justified  state,  or 
pardoned  state.  To  enter  into  it,  is  to  enter  into  a  state 
of  justification  or  pardon.  In  entering  into  that  body,  we 
come  to  the  blood  of  Christ,  which  cleanses  from  all  sin; 
to  the  Spirit  and  to  the  life  of  Christ,  all  of  which  are  in  the 
body.  If  we  enjoy  pardon,  the  benefits  of  the  blood  of 
Christ,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  life  of  Christ,  we  must  be  in 
the  body.  God  and  Christ  dwell  in  the  Church,  which 
is  the  temple  of  God  and  the  "pillar  and  support  of  the 
truth."  To  dwell  with  God  and  Christ,  enjoy  the  cleans- 
ing of  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  remission  of  sins,  the  im- 
partation  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  new  life,  we  must 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


343 


b\  in  Christ,  or  in  his  body — the  Church.  To  be  out  of 
the  Church  is  to  be  separated  from  God,  Christ,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  life  of  Christ,  and  justifi- 
cation. It  becomes  a  matter  of  momentous  importance, 
then,  to  know  that  we  are  in  Christ,  or  in  the  Church. 

It  is  not  enough  to  know  that  we  are  in  a  Church ,  but 
we  must  know  that  we  are  in  "the  Church  of  the  living 
God,"  "  the  kingdom  of  God,"  or  "  body  of  Christ." 
There  is  not  a  promise  in  any  other  institution  or  com- 
munity, but  this.  The  Lord  has  one  Church,  and  we  must 
not  mistake  something  else  for  that  Church.  How  can  we 
know  that  we  are  members  of  the  Church,  unless  we  know 
what  the  Church  is?  If  we  do  not  know  what  the  Church 
is,  we  do  not  know  whether  we  are  in  the  Church  or  not, 
whether  we  are  in  Christ  or  not,  whether  we  are  justified  or 
not.  If  we  intend  to  enjoy  God,  Christ,  the  Holy  Spirit, 
the  blood  of  Christ,  and,  in  one  word,  the  salvation  of  God, 
in  the  kingdom  or  Church,  we  must  be  in  that  kingdom. 
To  be  in  the  kingdom  or  Church,  we  must  know  what  it 
is.  How  shall  we,  then,  identify  the  Church  or  kingdom 
of  Christ?  I  lay  down  the  following  points  for  consider- 
ation : 

I.  A  body,  or  community,  not  built  on  the  foundation 
which  God  laid,  is  not  the  community  which  the  Lord  calls 
"my  Church." 

II.  A  community  not  founded  and  established  in  the 
right  place,  is  not  the  Church  of  Christ. 

III.  A  community  not  founded  at  the  right  time,  is  not 
the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

IV.  No  church  can  be  the  true  Church  not  founded  by 
the  proper  persons,  Christ  and  the  apostles. 

V.  A  kingdom,  with  any  other  law  than  the  one  given 
by  the  head  of  the  Church,  is  not  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 


344 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


VI.  Any  community  labeled  with  a  foreign  name,  or  a 
name  not  found  to  designate  the  body  of  Christ,  in  the 
New  Testament,  is  not  the  kingdom  of  God. 

A  failure  at  any  one  of  these  points  is  fatal  to  the  claims 
of  any  body  professing  to  be  the  body  of  Christ.  It  is 
due  to  the  greater  portion  of  the  religious  bodies  of  our 
day,  called  "churches,"  to  state  distindly  that  they  do  not 
claim  to  be  the  kingdom  of  God,  or  the  body  of  Christ. 
Excepting  a  few,  the  balance  only  claim  to  be  branches  of 
the  body,  or  Church  of  Christ.  Where  a  church  does  not 
claim  to  be  "the  Church,"  but  simply  a  branch  of  the 
Church,  the  members  are  only  members  of  a  branch,  and 
the  officers  are  only  officers  of  a  branch,  and  not  members 
and  officers  of  the  body  of  Christ.  These  branches,  and 
officers  in  them,  are  as  separate  and  distind:  from  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  and  the  officers  in  it,  as  Great  Britain  and 
Russia,  and  the  officers  of  these  respedive  governments. 
One  of  these  branch  communities  does  not  respedl  the  ads 
of  another,  or  in  any  way  regard  them.  These  different 
branch  communities  are  distind,  separate,  and  independent 
kingdoms,  with  different  laws,  officers,  names,  founda- 
tions, times,  and  places  of  origin.  They  are  not  built  on 
the  same  foundation,  did  not  originate  at  the  same  time 
and  place,  have  not  the  same  law  and  officers,  nor  the 
same  ecclesiastical  organization,  and  are,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  independent  and  distind  communities.  If  one 
of  them  dies,  there  is  no  grief  or  lamentation  among  the 
others,  in  view  of  the  loss,  nor  an  effort  to  save  another 
branch  of  the  same  church  from  dying.  They  are  all  willing 
it  should  die.  They  have  not  one  particle  of  sympathy 
for  it.  If  a  new  party  attempts  to  rise,  the  parties  in  ex- 
istence, instead  of  thanking  God  that  another  orthodox 
church  has  been  bo*rn,  taking  it  by  the  hand  and  raising 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


345 


it  up  to  manhood,  and  rejoicing  in  its  appearance,  turn 
their  batteries  on  it  from  every  quarter,  denouncing  it  as 
a  "damnable  heresy,"  and  do  their  utmost  to  destroy 
it.  When  they  fail,  and  find  that  it  will  live  in  spite  of 
all  their  denunciations  and  efforts  to  kill  it,  they  turn 
round  and  recognize  it  as  another  "orthodox  denomina- 
tion." Not  a  new  religious  party  ever  came  into  existence 
on  the  face  of  the  globe  that  was  not  denounced  as  a  heresy^ 
when  it  first  made  its  appearance,  and  that  was  not  fought 
and  opposed  while  it  was  young  and  weak.  But  when  a 
party  becomes  strong,  influential,  and  popular,  it  becomes 
an  orthodox  branch  of  the  church !  Thus,  all  the  parties 
now  called  "orthodox  branches"  were  once  styled  "her- 
esies;" and  that,  too,  when  they  were  better  than  they  are 
now;  but  when  they  could  fight  their  way,  and  live,  in  spite 
of  the  old  ones,  they  ceased  to  be  heresies,  and  became  ^oo^/ 
orthodox  branches! 

I.  We  have  said,  that  no  party,  or  community  not  built 
on  the  foundation  which  the  Lord  laid  in  Zion,  is  "  the 
Church  of  the  living  God."  What,  then,  is  the  foundation 
of  the  true  Church?  The  Lord  inquired  of  the  apostles, 
"Who  say  you  that  I  am?"  Peter  replied:  "Thou  art 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  The  Savior  pro- 
ceeded: "On  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church."  On 
which  rock?  On  this  grand  statement,  which  flesh  and 
blood  had  not  revealed,  but  which  the  Father  in  heaven 
had  revealed,  and  which  he  compares  to  a  rock — that  "Je- 
sus is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  Ggd" — "on  this," 
says  he,  "  I  will  found  my  Church."  This  is  the  great 
proposition  of  the  Divine  government.  In  it  all  the 
minor  propositions  are  included.  In  it  centers,  and  on 
it  rests,  the  entire  revelation  from  God  to  man.  If  this 
grand  proposition  concerning  Jesus,  that  "  he  is  the  Christ, 


346 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  is  true,  the  entire  Scriptures 
are  true;  for  this  being  true,  he  knew  all  things,  and  his 
numerous  quotations  from  Moses,  the  Psalms,  and  the 
Prophets,  as  the  word  of  God,  and  the  language  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  is  an  indorsement  of  all  these  writings.  His  calling 
the  apostles,  sending  them  and  qualifying  them,  as  well  as 
endowing  them  with  supernatural  power,  gave  them  an  en- 
dorsement that  no  man  can  in  honor  evade.  This  grand 
proposition  is  the  foundation  of  the  Church,  the  faith,  all 
true  piety,  and  the  hope  of  heaven.  It  is  not  a  proposi- 
tion concerning  a  theory,  a  speculation,  or  subtlety,  but  a 
proposition  concerning  a  person,  who  was  dead  and  is  alive, 
and  lives  forever  and  ever.  This  proposition  is  of  such 
momentous  magnitude,  if  true,  that  we  will  be  lost  for- 
ever if  we  do  not  receive  it.  The  Almighty  Father  will 
cast  us  off  forever,  as  if  we  had  rejedled  himself  in  person, 
if  we  rejeft  this  fundamental  proposition  concerning  his 
vSon.  The  moment  we  receive  this  proposition,  we  bind 
ourselves  to  receive  all  that  Jesus  taught,  do  all  he  com- 
manded, and  furthermore,  we  have  a  right  to  hope  for  all 
he  has  promised. 

How  many  churches  have  we  in  this  generation  that  are 
built  on  this  foundation,  or  that  will  receive  a  person  on 
this  foundation  ?  I  regret  to  know  that  many  of  them 
openly  declare  this  not  sufficient.  They  maintain  that  we 
must  have  something  more.  In  doing  this,  they  do  not 
honor  our  most  gracious  and  adorable  I,ord,  but  dishonor 
him.  Is  there  one  church  in  the  world  that  ignores  all 
articles  of  religion,  written  out  by  uninspired  men,  in  re- 
ceiving the  sinner,  and  that  receives  him  on  the  confes- 
sion, that  "Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God?"  There  is  one  Church  that  does  this.  This 
Church  is  built  on  this  great  truth,  and  receives  every 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


347 


person  that  comes  on  this  foundation-truth,  to  the  initiat- 
ing rite  of  the  New  Institution;  and  it  will  receive  him 
on  nothing  else.  Those  received  on  this  foundation,  and 
united  in  one  body,  are  on  the  rock — the  sure  foundation. 
Those  built  on  any  other  foundation,  or  not  on  this  foun- 
dation, can  not  claim  to  be  the  Church  of  the  living  God, 
the  body,  or  kingdom  of  Christ.  The  Romish  Church  is 
not  built  on  the  truth  that  "Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God" — ^'the  rock — but  on  "the  lie"  that  Peter 
is  the  rock.  The  central  idea,  or  foundation-thought,  in 
the  Episcopal  Church,  is  its  form  of  church  government. 
Its  very  name  originated  in  this  peculiar  form  of  govern- 
ment. This  is  a  side  foundation,  or  another  foundation, 
and  not  the  one  which  the  Lord  laid.  Not  being  built 
on  the  true  foundation — the  one  which  God  laid — it  is 
not  the  building  of  God,  not  the  temple  of  God. 

The  fundamental,  or  central,  idea  in  Methodism,  or  in 
the  Methodist  body,  is  method.  It  took  its  name  from 
the  idea  of  method.  It  is  founded  on  the  idea  of  method. 
There  is  nothing  religious,  spiritual,  or  celestial  in  method. 
There  are  as  many  methods  of  doing  evil  as  of  doing  good. 
Still,  this  is  the  central  idea  of  the  largest  Protestant  party 
in  the  world.  This  is  not  only  another^  but  almost  no 
foundation.  No  wonder  that  a  people  should  be  dividing 
every  few  years,  with  a  central  idea  so  feeble  in  its  attradlive 
powers.  The  Presbyterian  body  has  for  its  central,  or 
fundamental  idea,  the  Presbyterial  form  of  church  govern- 
ment, or  the  idea  of  governing  by  a  presbytery.  This 
is,  so  far  as  it  is  a  foundation  at  all,  another  foundation, 
and  not  the  one  which  God  laid.  The  body,  or  building 
on  it,  is  not  on  the  true  foundation,  and  not  the  building 
of  God.  The  central  idea  in  the  Baptist  body  is  baptism. 
The  body  takes  its  name  from  the  initiatory  rite  of  the 


348 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


kingdom,  and  not  from  the  head  over  all,  blessed  for- 
ever and  ever.  It  is  founded  on  an  ordinance^  and  not  on 
the  truth  concerning  him  who  authorized  the  ordinance. 
This  is  another  foundation.  So  on,  the  whole  round  of 
sectarian  establishments.  Not  one  of  them  is  founded 
on  the  true  foundation — the  truth — concerning  Jesus,  that 
"he  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Not  one 
of  them  has  confidence  enough  in  our  Lord  to  make  the 
truth  concerning  him  its  central  idea,  its  foundation.  Not 
one  of  them  is  willing  to  identify  itself  with  our  Lord, 
commit  itself  to  him  as  its  teacher,  leader,  and  head,  and, 
binding  itself  to  his  holy  law,  declare  itself  for  him,  and 
all  he  taught. 

IL  A  community  not  founded  or  established  in  the 
right  place  is  not  the  true  Church.  I  am  rejoiced  that  I 
need  no  special  effort  to  show  the  place  where  the  true 
Church  was  founded.  All  agree  that  in  Jerusalem  was  the 
place.  The  Lord  said  it  behooved  the  Messiah  to  suffer, 
and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third  day;  and  that  repent- 
ance and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name 
to  all  nations,  beginning  in  Jerusalem.  It  would  be  easy 
to  refer  to  the  prophets,  and  to  many  portions  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  show,  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt,  that 
the  true  Church  was  founded  in  Jerusalem.  But,  as  all 
parties  admit  this,  I  shall  not  occupy  my  limited  space  in 
arraying  the  proof. 

If  my  hearers  desire  to  know  whether  the  body  with 
which  they  stand  identified  is  the  true  Church,  let  them 
inquire  where  it  was  founded.  If  it  was  founded  in  Jeru- 
salem, it  may  be  the  true  Church ;  but  if  it  was  not  founded 
in  Jerusalem,  it  is  most  conclusive  evidence  that  it  is  not 
the  true  Church.  No  matter  how  many  good  people  there 
are  in  it,  nor  how  many  good  things  are  taught  and  done 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


349 


in  it,  it  is  not  the  true  Church.  One  clear  difference  be- 
tween a  counterfeit  and  genuine  note  deteds  the  one  that  is 
counterfeit,  especially  so  clear  a  difference  as  a  difference 
in  the  place  of  location.  A  difference,  then,  between  any 
body  of  people  and  the  body  of  Christ  so  striking,  as  orig- 
inating in  Rome,  and  originating  in  Jerusalem,  or  the  dif- 
erence  between  being  founded  in  Rome,  and  being  founded 
in  Je'-usalem,  proves  that  which  was  founded  in  Rome, 
London,  or  Geneva,  to  be  counterfeit.  The  Church  of 
Christ  was  first  planted  in  Jerusalem,  and  all  churches  first 
planted  or  founded  anywhere  else  are  certainly  spurious. 
They  are  not  genuine.  Nor  is  it  any  matter  how  many 
points  of  resemblance  there  may  be  between  the  genuine 
and  the  counterfeit,  they  are  not  the  same;  but  the  coun- 
terfeit is  only  the  more  dangerous,  and  likely  to  deceive. 
When  trying  them,  to  determine  which  is  the  true  or  the 
genuine  Church,  look  for  this  mark  on  it :  "  In  Jerusalem." 

III.  A  community  not  founded  at  the  right  time  is  not 
the  kingdom  of  God,  or  body  of  Christ.  This  test  is  a 
severe  one.  It  is  unambiguous.  The  community  which 
the  Lord  calls  "my  Church"  (Matt,  xvi :  i8),  was  cer- 
tainly not  built  when  he  said:  "On  this  rock  /  will  build 
my  Church."  He  alluded  to  what  he  intended  to  do  in 
the  future,  and  not  to  what  he  had  done  in  the  past,  when 
he  said,  "  I  will  build  my  Church."  He  taught  his  dis- 
ciples to  pray,  "Thy  kingdom  come;"  but  certainly  did 
not  teach  them  thus  to  pray  after  the  kingdom  had  come. 
"There  be  some  standing  here  who  shall  not  taste  death 
till  they  see  the  kingdom  of  God  come  with  power." 
■  Many  Scriptures  like  these  show  that  the  kingdom  had 
not  yet  come,  or  that  the  Church  was  not  yet  established. 
In  the  apostolic  letters,  we  find  numerous  references  to 
the  Church,  kingdom,  body,  house  of  God,  temple  of 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


God,  etc.,  as  then  in  existence,  showing  that  the  Church, 
or  kingdom,  was  established.  This,  then,  proves  that  it 
was  founded  in  the  time  of  the  apostles.  This  is  suffi- 
cient for  my  purpose  now.  The  true  Church  was,  then^ 
founded  in  the  time  of  the  apostles.  This  is  a  mark  of 
the  genuine  Church  not  to  be  found  on  any  counterfeit 
in  the  world.  A  community  not  founded  in  the  time  of 
the  apostles,  is  not  the  one  which  the  Lord  called  "  my 
Church,"  or  is  not  the  Church  of  the  living  God.  I  care 
not  where  the  history  of  a  community  of  people  may  lead 
us.  If  it  lead  not  to  the  time  of  the  apostles,  it  does 
not  lead  us  to  the  founding  of  that  body,  purchased  and 
cleansed  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 

When  did  the  Church  of  Rome  originate?  It  did  not 
originate  in  a  day  or  a  year,  but  gradually  subverted  the 
apostles'  teaching,  and,  in  centuries,  inaugurated  full- 
grown  Popery.  But  there  is  not  a  trace  of  a  Pope  or 
Universal  Father,  to  say  nothing  of  Vicegerent  of  Christ, 
or  Lord  God,  the  Pope,  nor  Popery,  in  the  history  of  the 
first  three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  Popery  was  in- 
augurated too  late,  by  at  least  three  centuries,  to  be  the 
true  or  genuine  Church.  It  is  one  of  the  basest  and  most 
impudent  counterfeits  ever  imposed  on  the  credulity  of 
man.  If  Popery  was  born  too  late,  or  is  too  young  to  be  the 
true  Church,  what  shall  be  said  of  those  communities  born 
in  the  past  three  centuries  ?  They  are  all  too  young  by 
largely  more  than  a  thousand  years.  No  church  that 
came  into  existence  since  the  death  of  the  apostles  can  be 
the  Church  of  the  living  God. 

IV.  No  church  can  be  the  true  Church  that  was  not 
founded  by  Christ  and  the  apostles.  Churches  founded 
by  other  persons,  or  originating  with  other  persons,  are 
simply  not  the  Church  of  Christ.    All  books,  all  parties. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


knd  all  men  agree  that  Christ  and  the  apostles  founded 
the  community  called  "the  body  of  Christ" — the  "one 
body"  of  Paul.  What  shall  we  say,  then,  of  a  church 
that  traces  its  history  to  George  Fox,  and  finds  not  a  trace 
of  its  existence  beyond  him.  There  never  was  a  Quaker 
before  George  Fox,  nor  a  Quaker  Church.  The  history 
of  the  world  does  not  refer  to  the  existence  of  a  Lutheran 
or  a  Lutheran  Church  before  Martin  Luther  lived.  The 
Lutheran  Church  originated  with  Luther.  The  body  of 
Christ  existed  from  the  apostolic  day  till  the  time  of 
Luther,  before  there  was  any  Lutheran  Church.  The 
Presbyterian  Church  originated  with  John  Calvin.  Be- 
fore the  time  of  Calvin  there  never  was  a  Presbyterian,  nor 
a  Presbyterian  Church.  The  Church,  or  body  of  Christ, 
existed  from  the  time  of  the  apostles  till  the  time  of  Cal- 
vin, and  consequently  could  not  have  been  established  by 
Calvin.  Presbyterianism  was,  therefore,  born  many  long 
centuries  too  late  to  lay  any  claims  to  Christianity.  It 
may  have  incorporated  some  Christianity  in  it,  but  it  is 
still  carefully  and  very  justly  labeled  "Presbyterianism." 
The  Methodist  Church  originated  with  John  Wesley. 
Before  the  time  of  Wesley  there  never  was  a  Methodist 
Church  or  a  Methodist.  But  the  Church  of  Christ  ex- 
isted from  the  time  of  the  apostles  till  the  time  of  Wesley. 
Hence,  Methodism  originated  with  the  wrong  person  to 
be  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  body  of  Christ  originated 
with  Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  not  with  Wesley.  Any 
body  or  community  that  did  not  originate  with  Christ  and 
the  apostles,  but  with  some  more  modern  person  or  per- 
sons, is  manifestly  not  the  body  of  Christ. 

V.  A  kingdom  or  community,  with  any  other  law  than 
the  one  given  by  the  Lord,  the  great  Head  of  the  Church, 
is  manifestly  not  the  kingdom  of  Christ.    The  law  of  the 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


great  King  is  clearly  laid  down  in  the  Bible.  The  Bible 
contains  the  constitution  and  law  of  the  King  for  his  king- 
dom. This  was  the  only  law  ever  authorized  by  the  great 
King  and  Head  of  the  Church,  or  adopted,  approved,  and 
pradiced  under  in  the  time  of  the  apostles.  Any  church  or 
body  of  people,  who  have  substituted  any  other  law,  no  mat- 
ter how  many  resemblances  there  may  be  between  it  and  the 
law  of  God,  is  not  the  body  of  Christ.  He  never  author- 
ized a  living  .uan  even  to  alter  his  law,  add  any  thing  to 
it,  or  take  any  thing  from  ic,  to  say  nothing  of  substituting 
another  law  for  it.  It  may  be  replied  that  these  other  laws 
are  like  the  law  of  God,  or  taken  from  it.  This,  these  par- 
ties do  not  believe  themselves.  A  Presbyterian  does  not 
believe  that  the  Methodist  "Book  of  Discipline"  is  of 
Divine  authority ;  has  no  regard  for  it ;  and  probably  never 
reads  it.  A  Methodist  does  not  believe  that  the  Presby- 
terian Confession  of  Faith  is  of  Divine  authority,  and  has 
no  regard  for  it.  There  is  not  a  party  in  the  world  that 
has  any  regard  for  the  Presbyterian  Confession  of  Faith, 
except  the  Presbyterian  party.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
creed  of  every  other  party  in  the  world.  But  all  good 
people  have  resped  for  the  law  cf  God.  The  law  of  God 
is  supreme,  and  those  loyal  to  it,  united  under  it,  and 
keeping  it,  are  his  people — the  body  of  Christ.  But  those 
formed  into  parties,  under  other  Ihws,  are  new  settlements 
not  indorsed  by  our  King. 

VI.  Any  community  labelea  with  some  foreign  name, 
or  some  name  unknown  to  the  New  Covenant,  must  be  a 
new  and  strange  body.  There  can  be  no  use  in  a  new 
name  for  the  old  body  or  community.  There  must  be  a 
new  idea,  or  something  different  from  the  old  community, 
to  create  the  necessity  for  a  new  name.  If  we  have  noth- 
ing they  did  not  have  in  apostolic  times,  we  need  lo  other 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


353 


names  than  they  had.  If  we  have  the  kingdom  of  God, 
the  Church  of  God,  the  body  of  Christ,  and  nothing  else, 
there  is  no  need  of  calling  it  any  thing  else.  But  the  truth 
is,  new  names  come  from  new  ideas,  and  are  intended  to 
express  something  new.  A"  man  may  read  of  the  Church 
of  God,  the  body  of  Christ,  the  kingdom  of  God,  etc., 
for  a  month,  and  it  never  suggests  a  Methodist  Church,  a 
Presbyterian  Church,  or  a  Baptist  Church,  unless  in  con 
trast.  He  knows  that  he  is  not  reading  about  these  latter 
bodies,  as  they  were  not  in  existence  at  the  time  of  the 
writing.  The  new  and  foreign  name  shows  that  it  does 
not  refer  to  the  body  of  Christ,  but  something  else. 

Now,  there  are  so  many  notions  about  succession  of 
churches,  preachers,  officers,  ordinations,  ordinances,  and 
the  like,  that  I  know  that  many  will  inquire  for  a  succes- 
sion in  some  of  these  respedls.  It  will,  therefore  be  nec- 
essary to  make  a  few  observations  touching  this  subjedl: 

I.  The  attempts  at  making  out  a  succession  of  Popes 
on  the  part  of  Romanists — the  wicked  Popes  through 
which  their  pretended  succession  runs,  and  the  successions 
attempted  to  be  shown  in  the  Greek  and  Episcopal 
churches,  are  sufficient  to  cover  the  face  of  a  man  of  con- 
science and  sense  with  utter  shame  and  confusion.  If 
there  is  no  grace  to  be  found  unless  these  successions,  or 
any  one  of  them,  can  be  made  out,  the  world  is  lost.  But 
I  am  thankful  that  the  New  Testament  knows  as  little  of 
any  of  these  successions,  or  any  necessity  for  them,  as 
it  does  of  a  Romish,  Greek,  or  Episcopal  Church.  The 
Church  of  Christ  is  not  built  on  a  succession  of  any  kind, 
Romish,  Greek,  or  Episcopal,  but  on  the  truth  concern- 
ing Jesus,  that  "he  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God."    The  souls  of  the  saints  rest  not  on  the  difficult 

and  doubtful  task  of  making  out  successions  of  any  kind= 
23 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


They  turn  their  hearts  to  the  truth  concerning  our  Lord, 
which  he  compares  to  a  rock^  on  which  he  said,  "  I  will 
build  my  Church."  They  find  the  Church  built  on  that 
great  foundation-truth,  and  it  receives  all  its  members  on 
that  truth,  as  it  did  at  the  beginning,  in  the  right  -place^ 
in  Jerusalem;  at  the  right  time,  on  Pentecost;  originating 
with  the  right  persons,  Christ  and  the  apostles;  having  the 
right  law,  the  law  of  God;  and  with  the  right  name,  the 
body  of  Christ,  the  kingdom  or  Church  of  God,  with  the 
original  worship  and  all  things  as  they  were  at  the  first. 
Having  come  into  the  school  of  Christ,  they  are  now  his 
disciples,  learners,  pupils,  and  he  is  their  Teacher.  They 
are  so  busily  engaged  in  the  lessons  given  them  by  their 
Great  Teacher,  and  so  enraptured  with  them,  that  they  have 
no  time  for  examining  musty  records  about  successions 
of  churches,  men,  or  ordinances.  They  depend  not  on 
succession,  but  fellowship  with  the  Father,  and  his  Son 
Jesus  the  Christ.  They  listen  to  no  unregenerated  men, 
prating  about  a  succession  which  never  was,  and  never  can 
be  made  out,  but  to  the  law  of  their  glorious  King.  If  these 
successionists  ask  where  the  Church  was  in  the  dark  ages, 
tell  them  you  know  not;  that  the  Lord  took  care  of  it,  and 
you  are  thankful  to  know  that  it  is  here  still,  full  of  life, 
power,  and  determination,  and  destined  to  do  a  greater  work 
than  ever  before.  Tell  them,  that,  with  God's  blessing, 
we  intend  to  restore  the  sure  foundation  which  the  Lord 
laid,  and  build  on,  sweeping  away  every  thing  in  the  way  of 
the  work;  that  we  intend  to  reinstate  the  authority — the 
supreme  authority  of  our  only  Potentate,  Jesus  the  Mes- 
siah, head  over  all,  blessed  forever  and  ever,  and  sweep 
from  earth  all  opposing  authority  of  men;  that  we  intend 
to  restore  the  law  of  God  to  the  people  of  this  generation, 
reinstate  it  fully,  where  the  clergy  had  set  it  aside  by  thr 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


355 


dodrines  and  commandments  of  men,  at  the  same  time 
sweeping  away  all  creeds,  confessions  of  faith,  disciplines, 
etc.,  in  the  way  of  the  full  and  free  administration  of  the 
law  of  God.  Tell  them  that  we  intend  a  complete  resto- 
ration of  the  faith,  pradice,  worship,  and  all  things  as  they 
were  at  the  first. 

Here  is  clear  and  definite  work.  That  body,  which 
the  Lord  called  "my  Church,"  which  was  "every-where 
spoken  against,"  in  the  time  of  Paul,  is  here,  alive,  stand- 
ing on  the  old  foundation,  with  the  same  head,  creed,  or 
law,  and  the  same  name;  nor  does  it  fail  to  be  "every- 
where spoken  against"  still;  nor  is  it  a  matter  of  impor- 
tance whether  it  can  trace  a  succession  back  through  the 
dark  ages  or  not;  it  is  here  and  alive,  and  as  determined 
as  ever  to  live  and  maintain  its  rights.  If  it  was  dead, 
during  the  dark  ages,  God  has  raised  it  from  the  dead,  and 
breathed  new  life  into  it.  What  we  want  now,  is  to  know 
who  its  friends  are?  We  want  to  see  every  man  who  in- 
tends to  stand  for  the  Head  of  the  Church,  the  founda- 
tion, the  apostles'  teaching,  and  all  things  as  they  were  at 
the  first,  to  stand  out  on  one  side.  If  there  are  those 
who  do  not  intend  to  stand  to  this,  we  want  them  to 
stand  on  the  other  side.  We  desire  to  know  who  is  on 
the  Lord's  side,  and  who  is  not;,  who  is  for  us,  and  who 
is  against  us;  who  is  loyal,  and  who  sympathizes  with  the 
enemy. 

We  are  occupying  the  most  responsible  position  of  any 
body  of  people  on  the  earth.  We  are  bound  to  the  Lord 
Jesus,  in  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  sealed  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus,  and  confirmed  by  the  oath  of  the  Al- 
mighty, as  well  as  by  all  the  veracity  and  honor  there  is 
in  us,  to  be  true  to  this  great  work.  Let  us,  then,  make 
a  glorious  record,  ofte  that  we  shall  be  happy  to  contem- 


356 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


plate  at  death,  and  that  shall  be  a  credit  to  us  In  the  day 
of  judgment. 

To  the  King  eternal,  immortal,  and  invisible,  the  only- 
wise  God  our  Savior,  be  glory  and  dominion,  majesty  and 
power,  forever  and  ever. 


I 
I 

! 


i 


1 


i 


THOMAS  PRESTON  HALEY. 


HOMAS  PRESTON  HALEY  was  born  in  Fayette  County,  Ken- 


tucky,  on  the  19th  day  of  April,  1832.  In  the  fall  of  1833,  his 
father  emigrated  to  Missouri,  and  settled  in  Randolph  County,  of  that  State. 
The  first  Christian  Church  in  the  county  of  Randolph  was  organized  in 
his  father's  house,  and  was  composed  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  of  members 
of  his  father's  family.  Under  the  care  of  Christian  parents,  and  the  ear- 
nest preaching  of  the  lamented  Allen  Wright,  Thomas  became  deeply 
interested  in  the  subjeft  of  religion,  and,  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen,  con- 
fessed the  Savior,  and  was  immersed,  under  the  ministry  of  Henry  Thomas, 
now  of  Austin,  Texas. 

When  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  commenced  reading  the  Scriptures 
and  praying  in  the  social  meetings  of  the  Church.  In  this  way,  he  grad- 
ually acquired  confidence,  and  began  to  give  promise  of  the  ability  which 
has  since  charafterized  his  public  ministry. 

Having  made  considerable  progress  in  a  rudimental  education,  and  being 
thrown  on  his  own  resources,  on  account  of  the  moderate  circumstances  of 
his  family,  before  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  took  charge  of  a  coun- 
try school,  which  he  conduced  for  some  time  in  a  very  satisfaftory  manner. 
While  engaged  in  teaching  this  school,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  lefturing  his 
pupils  on  various  subjedls  connefted  with  their  studies  and  the  pradtical 
duties  of  life.  This  praftice  further  developed  his  speaking  talents,  and, 
under  the  advice  and  instruftion  of  Marcus  P.  Wills  and  T.  M.  Allen, 
of  Missouri,  he  was  induced  to  give  himself  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gos- 
pel. Accordingly,  after  having  spent  a  few  years  preaching  in  a  somewhat 
miscellaneous  way,  he  was,  on  the  third  Lord's  day  in  November,  1853, 
ordained  to  the  ministry,  at  Antioch,  Randolph  County,  Missouri.  Since 
then,  he  has  given  his  whole  time  to  the  work,  excepting  two  years  during 
the  late  war,  at  which  time  he  was  engaged  in  teaching.  He  was  married, 
on  the  fifth  day  of  May,  1855,  to  Mary  Louisa  M'Garvey,  of  Howard 
County,  Missouri. 

From  1 853  to  1 858,  he  was  engaged  principally  in  the  general  field,  trav 


358 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


eling  extensively  in  north-western  Missouri,  and  meeting  with  encouraging 
success  in  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel. 

In  the  fall  of  1858,  he  became  pastor  of  the  Church  at  Lexington,  Mis- 
souri, which  position  he  held  until  the  summer  of  1864.  He  then  removed 
to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Chestnut-street  Church, 
in  that  city,  which  is  his  present  field  of  labor. 

Brother  Haley  has  a  finely-developed  physical  organization,  being  con- 
siderably over  medium  size,  and  compaftly  built.  He  has  dark  hair  and 
eyes,  is  very  eredl,  and  has  a  striking  personal  appearance.  His  mental 
powers  are  evidently  well  supported  by  a  healthy,  vigorous,  physical  con- 
stitution. 

As  a  preacher,  he  is  a  good  Evangelist,  but  a  much  better  pastor.  In 
the  last  department  of  labor  he  has  been  eminently  successful.  The  Church 
at  Lexington,  Missouri,  was  never  so  prosperous  as  while  under  his  pastoral 
care.  His  labors  in  Louisville  have  also  been  greatly  blessed.  The  Church 
for  which  he  preaches  has  grown  from  a  very  small  and  weak  congregation 
to  one  of  the  largest  and  most  influential  in  all  the  country.  These  suc- 
cesses have  been  achieved  by  constant,  laborious,  and  faithful  work. 

His  social  powers  are  well  developed,  and  these  give  him  great  influence 
in  any  church  for  which  he  labors.  While  he  is  dignified  and  command- 
ing in  his  manners,  he  is  easily  approached,  and  every  one  receives  from 
him  the  most  courteous  and  respeftful  attention.  He  is  a  much  more  than 
average  speaker,  but  by  no  means  exerts  his  greatest  power  in  the  pulpit; 
he  preaches  his  best  sermons  in  the  social  circle,  and  at  the  fireside  of  the 
members  of  the  Church. 


BUILDING  ON  THE  ONE  FOUNDATION. 


BY  T.  P.  HALEY. 


"According  to  the  grace  of  God  that  is  given  to  me,  as  a  wise  master- 
builder,  I  have  laid  the  foundation,  and  another  builds  on  this.  But  let 
every  one  take  heed  how  he  builds  on  this.  For  other  foundation  can  no  man 
lay  than  that  which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ."  (i  Cor.  iii:  lo,  ii.) 

THERE  were  divisions  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  in  the 
city  of  Corinth,  One  objedt  of  the  Apostle,  in  the 
letter  from  which  the  foregoing  language  is  quoted,  was  the 
healing  of  these  divisions.  In  the  tenth  verse  of  the  first 
chapter  we  find  the  following  language:  "Now  I  beseech 
you,  brethren,  by  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  you  all  speak  the  same  thing,  and  that  there  be  no 
schisms  among  you ;  but  that  you  be  perfedlly  united  in 
the  same  mind,  and  in  the  same  judgment." 

The  apostle  again  affirms  (i  Cor.  iii):  "And  I,  breth- 
ren, was  not  able  to  speak  to  you  as  to  spiritual  men  but 

as  to  those  who  are  carnal,  as  to  babes  in  Christ  

For  since  envy,  and  strife,  and  divisions  are  among  you,  are 
you  not  carnal,  and  do  you  not  walk  as  men?" 

The  apostle  thus  proceeds  to  present  such  considera- 
tions as  are  calculated  to  corred  this  evil.    He  says  to 
them:   "You  are  God's  field.    You  are  God's  building." 
He  does  not  say:  You,  brethren,  are  God's  fieldsy  or 

(359) 


360 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


God's  buildings \  but  employs  the  singular  number.  Hav- 
ing introduced  the  term  building,  he  very  naturally  pro- 
ceeds to  speak  of  the  foundation ;  and  as  God  has  but  one 
building,  there  is  but  one  foundation.  The  Church  of  Christ 
is,  then,  considered  by  him  under  the  figure  of  a  building 
or  a  house. 

What,  then,  is  the  foundation  of  this  house? 

It  has  been  affirmed  that  the  Church  was  built  in  the 
days  of  Abraham,  and  that  his  family  and  immediate  de- 
scendants were  in  it;  that  it  was  built  on  a  "covenant  of 
grace  "  that  God  made  with  Abraham.  Of  course,  if  this 
be  true,  then  the  "Church  of  Christ"  has  had  a  visible 
existence  since  the  days  of  Abraham,  and  all  his  descend- 
ants have  been  members  thereof. 

When,  however,  the  harbinger,  John  the  Immerser, 
came,  he  cried  to  Israel,  saying:  "Repent,  for  the  king- 
dom of  heaven — the  Church  of  Christ" — is  at  hand  (Matt, 
iii:  2),  or  comes  nigh.  Now  if  the  kingdom  had  already 
come,  if  the  Church  had  existed  from  the  days  of  Abra- 
ham, how  could  the  harbinger  say  it  is  at  hand,  or,  it 
comes  nigh?  He  could  not  have  said  it.  Besides,  the 
Savior,  in  speaking  of  John,  says:  "Verily,  I  say  to  you, 
among  those  born  of  women,  there  has  not  risen  a  greater 
than  John  the  Immerser.  But  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  greater  than  he."  (Matt,  xi:  1 1.)  If  the  Church 
of  Christ,  the  "  building,"  was  founded  in  the  family  of 
Abraham,  and  embraced  all  his  descendants,  John,  being 
one  of  them,  was  already  a  member  thereof;  and  the  Savior 
could  not  have  said,  "he  that  is  least  in  the  kingdom  is 
greater  than  he."  But  the  kingdom,  or  the  Church,  not 
being  yet  founded — being  yet  in  the  future — he  could, 
with  great  propriety,  say,  that,  notwithstanding  John  was 


T.  P.  HALEY. 


361 


"more  than  a  prophet,"  the  least  in  the  kingdom  is  greater 
than  he. 

Again:  If  the  Church  of  Christ,  or  God's  building,  was 
founded  in  the  family  of  Abraham,  then,  of  course,  it  ex- 
isted when  Jesus  commenced  his  ministry;  and  yet  the 
burden  of  his  discourse  was,  "the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
at  hand,'  or,  the  Church  is  about  to  be  established. 

Again:  "When  Jesus  came  into  the  regions  of  Caesarea 
Philippi,  he  asked  his  disciples,  saying:  'Who  do  men  say 
that  I,  the  son  of  man,  am.?'  They  replied:  'Some  say 
that  thou  art  John  the  Immerser;  others,  Jeremiah,  or  one 
of  the  prophets.'  He  said  to  them:  '  But  who  say  you 
that  I  am.?'  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said  :  'Thou  art 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.'  And  Jesus  an- 
swered and  said  to  him:  'Blessed  are  you,  Simon,  son  of 
Jonas  ;  for  flesh  and  blood  did  not  reveal  this  to  you,  but 
my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say  to  you,  that  you 
are  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church;  and  the 
gates  of  hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it.'"  (Matt,  xvi: 
13—20.)  It  is  not  difficult  to  see,  from  this  passage,  that 
the  "Church  of  Christ  "  was  yet  future;  and  equally  clear 
that  it  was  not  built,  nor  to  be  built,  on  a  "  covenant  of 
grace."  Whatever  may  have  been  organized  or  estab- 
lished in  the  family  of  Abraham,  it  was  not  the  Church 
of  Christ. 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  the  Jewish  Church 
differed,  in  many  essential  points,  from  the  Church  of 
Christ,  to  which  Paul  refers  in  the  passage  under  consid- 
eration, under  the  figure  of  a  building ;  and  while  we 
might  readily  grant  that  the  Jewish  theocracy  was  founded 
in  Abraham's  family,  and  on  a  covenant  of  g;"ace,  we  should 
as  promptly  deny  that  the  "Church  of  Christ"  had  an  ex- 


362 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


istence  at  the  time  in  which  Christ  said,  "  I  will  build  my 
Church." 

It  is  affirmed  by  Papists,  with  great  confidence,  that  the 
"  Church  of  Christ  was  founded  or  builded  on  the  holy 
Apostle  Peter."  When  Paul  was  considering  the  Church 
under  another  figure,  he  says:  "Now,  therefore,  you  are 
no  longer  strangers  and  sojourners,  but  fellow-citizens 
with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God;  having  been 
builded  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone,"  (Eph. 
ii :  20.)  With  this  declaration  of  the  apostle  before  us, 
may  we  not  ask,  Why  should  it  be  affirmed  that  the  Church 
is  builded  on  Peter,  rather  than  on  Paul,  or  James,  or 
John  ?  It  would,  indeed,  be  far  more  consistent  in  the 
Romanist  to  affirm  that  the  Church  was  built  on  Paul, 
since  it  is  certain  that  Paul  did  minister  in  Rome ;  and 
equally  certain  that  Peter  never  saw  the  Papal  city,  which 
was  to  be  so  prominent  in  perpetuating  his  memory. 

In  the  language  quoted  above  from  Paul,  he-  is  consid- 
ering the  Church  of  Christ  under  the  figure  of  a  house, 
composed  of  living  stones,  each  member  being  a  lively 
stone,  as  the  apostles  and  New  Testament  prophets  were 
the  first  admitted.  The  Church  is  said  to  be  "  builded 
upon  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  himself  being  the  chief 
corner-stone."  But,  even  from  this  point  of  view,  Peter 
is  the  foundation  in  precisely  the  same  sense  as  were  all 
the  other  "apostles  and  prophets." 

Paul  has,  however,  settled  the  question  definitely  in  the 
following  words  :  "Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than 
that  which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ."  (i  Cor.  iii :  1 1.) 
Considered,  therefore,  as  a  house  composed  of  living 
stones,  Jesus  the  Christ  is  the  foundation.  "  Behold,  I 
lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  pre- 


T.  P.  HALEY. 


ious  corner-stone,  a  sure  foundation.  He  that  believeth 
^hall  not  make  haste."  (Isa.  xxviii :  16.)  Considered  as 
an  organized  association  or  society,  the  truth  confessed  by 
Peter,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God," 
is  the  foundation;  and  "other  foundation  can  no  man 
lay  than  that  is  laid." 

The  question  may  be  asked,  How  does  a  "  truth," 
couched  in  a  proposition,  become  the  foundation  of  an 
organized  association  or  society?  We  can  not  better  an- 
swer this  question  than  by  presenting  several  illustrations. 
We  have,  in  this  community,  an  organized  society,  called 
a  "Temperance  Society."  The  truth  upon  which  this 
organization  is  founded  is  stated  in  the  following  words: 
'The  use  of  intoxicating  drinks,  as  a  beverage,  is  unnec- 
essary, and  injurious."  Every  person  embracing  this 
truth,  and  willing  to  ad  in  conformity  therewith,  is  ready 
to  be  admitted  a  member  of  the  society.  He  who  denies 
the  truth  of  the  proposition  can  not  be  a  member  thereof. 
Since  all  within  do  believe  this  proposition,  and  do  ad:  in 
conformity  therewith,  the  society  rests  upon,  or  is  founded 
upon,  the  truth  couched  in  this  proposition. 

Again  :  Mohammedanism  is  an  organized  religion,  or 
Church  of  Religionists.  The  proposition  containing  the 
supposed  "foundation  truth"  is,  that  Mohammed  was  a 
prophet  of  God.  When  one  is  convinced  that  this  prop- 
osition is  true,  and  is  willing  to  ad  in  harmony  with  his 
convidions,  he  is  a  Mohammedan.  Since  all  Mohammed- 
ans believe  the  proposition,  and  since  no  one  can  be  such 
who  denies  it,  we  say  it  is  the  foundation  proposition. 

Again,  we  have,  across  the  waters,  organized  govern- 
ments, called  monarchies.  The  truth,  or  supposed  truth, 
on  which  they  are  founded  is,  that  kings  rule'  by  Divine 
right.    Every  man  who  believes  the  proposition,  and  is 


3^4 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


willing  to  ad  in  harmony  therewith,  is  a  monarchist.  He 
who  denies  the  proposition  can  not  be  a  loyal  subjeft  of 
such  government.  All  loyal  subjects  believing  the  prop- 
osition, and  living  consistently  therewith,  it  may  be,  with 
great  propriety,  affirmed  that  the  government  rests  on  this 
proposition  as  its  foundation. 

So  the  Church  of  Christ,  as  an  organized  association  or 
society,  is  founded  on  the  truth  of  the  proposition,  "Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Every  one, 
therefore,  who  believes  this  proposition,  and  conforms  his 
life  to  it,  is  a  Christian.  No  one  can  be  a  member  of  this 
body,  can  be  in  this  building,  who  r-ejefts  this  proposition, 
or  who  will  not  "show  his  faith  by  his  works."  Paul 
says:  "As  a  wise  master-builder  I  have  laid  the  founda- 
tion, and  another  builds  on  this." 

How  did  Paul  lay  this  foundation  ?  He  founded  the 
Church  in  the  city  of  Corinth,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
caused  to  be  written  a  history  of  this  transadlion  in  the 
following  words: 

"After  these  things  Paul  departed  from  Athens,  and 
came  to  Corinth;  and  finding  a  certain  Jew  named  Aquila, 
born  in  Pontus,  who  had  lately  come  from  Italy,  with 
Priscilla,  his  wife  (because  Claudius  had  commanded  all 
Jews  to  depart  from  Rome),  he  went  to  them  ;  and  because 
he  was  of  the  same  trade,  he  made  his  home  with  them, 
and  worked;  for  by  trade  they  were  tent-makers.  But  on 
every  Sabbath  he  reasoned  in  the  synagogue,  and  persuaded 
the  Jews  and  the  Greeks.  And  when  Silas  and  Timothy 
came  from  Macedonia,  Paul  was  roused  in  spiiit,  and  earn- 
estly testified  to  the  Jews  that  the  Christ  was  Jesus,"  or,  as 
the  old  version  rendered  it,  that  "  Jesus  was  the  Christ."' 

Paul,  then,  laid  the  foundation  "as  a  wise  master -builfl- 
er,"  not  by  preaching  a  "covenant  of  grace,"  nor  the  Apostle 


T.  P.  HALEV. 


Peter,  but  by  preaching  Christ,  remembering  that  "other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus 
the  Christ."  In  referring  to  his  labors  among  these  breth- 
ren, Paul  says:  ''For  I  delivered  you,  among  the  first 
things,  that  which  I  also  received,  that  Christ  died  for 
our  sins,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  that  he  was 
buried,  and  that  he  rose  again  the  third  day,  according  to 
the  Scriptures,  and  that  he  was  seen  by  Cephas,  then  of  the 
twelve,"  etc.  (i  Cor,  xv:  3.)  And  again,  referring  to  his 
first  entrance  among  them,  he  says:  "And  I,  brethren, 
when  I  came  to  you,  came  not  with  excellence  of  speech, 
or  of  wisdom,  declaring  to  you  the  testimony  of  God. 
For  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you  but 
Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified."  (i  Cor.  ii:  i,  a.)  Thus 
we  learn  not  only  how  he  laid  the  foundation,  but  precisely 
what  the  foundation  is  which  he  did  lay. 

It  is  manifest,  from  these  Scriptures,  that  Paul  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Corinth,  by  "  testi- 
fying to  the  Jews  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,"  by  preach- 
ing "Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified."  What  a  lesson  to 
preachers  of  this  generation  !  How  many  would  now  be 
content,  in  establishing  a  church,  to  preach  as  Paul 
preached — no  more,  no  less?    Not  many,  we  fear! 

But  the  apostle  says:  "Another  builds  on  this,  but  let 
every  man  take  heed  how  he  builds  on  this."  How,  then, 
may  we  ask,  did  Paul  build  on  this  foundation?  He  did 
it  as  a  master-builder,  a  skillful  architedl.  The  Holy  Spirit 
tells  us  in  the  following  words:  "But  Crispus,  the  ruler 
of  the  synagogue,  believed  on  the  Lord,  with  all  his.  house, 
and  many  of  the  Corinthians,  hearing,  believed  and  were 
immersed."  (Adls  xviii:  8.)  Thus  were  they  builded  on 
the  one  foundation,  and  the  apostle  has  solemnly  warned 
every  man  to  take  heed  how  he  builds  thereupon. 


366 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Those  who  thus  build  now — lay  the  foundation  by  preach- 
ing Christ  and  him  crucified — and  teach  the  multitudes  to 
hear,  believe,  and  be  immersed  are  surely  building  as  did 
Paul,  and  will  secure  the  approbation  of  God.  But,  alas  I 
for  those  who  build  on  this  foundation  any  material  not 
thus  prepared!  This  proceeding  of  Paul  was  in  precise 
harmony  with  "the  Great  Commission"  under  which  he 
was  afting.  "  Go  preach  the  Gospel,  the  death,  burial,  and 
resurrection  of  Christ  to  every  creature.  He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved;  he  that  believeth  not  shall 
be  condemned."  (Mark  xvi :  i6.) 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  ten  days  after  the  ascension 
of  Jesus  from  the  brow  of  Olivet,  the  Holy  Spirit  came 
down,  and  inspired  the  apostles  to  lay  the  foundation,  or 
to  set  forth  the  foundation  which  God  had  laid  in  Zion. 
They  did  this  by  "preaching  Jesus."  The  waiting  and 
anxious  multitudes,  among  whom  were  the  murderers  of 
the  "  Holy  One,  and  the  Just,"  already  conscience-smit- 
ten, heard.  The  natural  and  necessary  result  followed. 
They  believed.  "  They  were  pierced  to  the  heart,  and 
said.  Brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?  Then  they  that  gladly 
received  his  word  were  immersed;  and  on  that  day  there 
were  added  to  them  about  three  thousand  souls."  (Adls 

The  foundation,  "Jesus  is  the  Christ,"  was  laid.  Three 
thousand  were  builded  upon  it  by  hearing,  believing,  and 
being  immersed.  The  single  article  of  faith  presented 
to  that  audience  was  the  foundation-truth.  "Therefore, 
let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God  has 
made  this  same  Jesus,  whom  you  crucified,  both  Lord 
and  Christ."  They  heard  this  proposition,  with  the  evi- 
dence presented,  and  the  foundation  was  laid.  They  then 
obeyed  the  commands  given,  and  were  builded  on  the 


T.  P.  HALEY. 


foundation.  Thus  was  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Jerusa- 
lem founded. 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  in  Samaria  was  founded  pre- 
cisely in  the  same  way:  "Then  they  that  were  dispersed 
went  every-where  preaching  the  word.  And  Philip  went 
down  to  the  city  of  Samaria,  and  preached  the  Christ  to 
thtm;  and  the  multitude  with  one  mind  gave  heed  to  the 
things  which  were  spoken  by  Philip,  when  they  heard  and 
saw  the  signs  which  he  did."  (Adls  viii :  4.)  Thus  was 
the  foundation  laid  in  Samaria.  The  people  were  builded 
upon  it  thus.  But  when  they  believed  Philip,  who  preached 
the  good  news  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  were  immersed,  both  men  and 
women. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  in  order  to  found  a  church  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  apostolic  times,  it  was  not  necessary  to  discuss 
the  questions  of  original  sin;  of  total  hereditary  depravity; 
of  justification  by  faith  only;  of  the  abstradl  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  So  far  as  preaching  was  concerned,  it 
was  only  necessary  to  preach  Christ  and  him  crucified. 
Nor  was  it  necessary,  in  order  to  build  upon  this  foun- 
dation, that  men  should  understand  any  of  the  philoso- 
phies mentioned ;  nor  was  it  necessary  that  men  should 
"  labor  under  convi-dtion  "  for  a  long  season — that  they 
should  ask  the  intercession  of  good  men,  pray,  and  be 
prayed  for.  It  was  only  necessary  that  they  should  "  hear, 
believe,  and  be  immersed  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit."  When  they  did  so,  they  were  recognized 
by  the  inspired  apostles  as  Christians,  and  soon  afterward 
addressed  as  such.  He  who  accepts  Jesus  as  the  Lamb 
of  God,  slain  for  sinners,  and  yields  to  his  authority  ex- 
pressed in  the  commandments  given  to  the  Gospel,  is  a 
Christian. 


j68 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Whenever  these  truths  shall  be  perceived  by  the  religi- 
ous parties  in  Christendom— when  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
and  submission  to  his  authority  shall  be  the  test  of 
Christian  charadter,  and  the  bond  of  Christian  union,  com- 
munion, and  fellowship — then  shall  that  earnest  prayer 
of  the  blessed  Savior  be  answered:  "That  they  all  ma) 
be  one,  as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee ;  that 
they  may  be  one  in  us  ;  that  the  world  may  believe  that 
thou  hast  sent  me."  (John  xvii :  21.)  Consummation 
most  devoutly  wished!  when  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  shall  be  united  in  one  body — built  upon  one  foun- 
dation ;  when  it  can  again  be  said  :  "  There  is  one  body 
and  one  Spirit,  even  as  you  have  been  called,  in  one  hope 
of  your  calling;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  immersion,  one 
God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  all,  and  through  all, 
and  in  you  all."  (Eph.  iv:  4-6.) 

Then  shall  Zion  arise  in  her  might.  She  shall  put  on 
her  beautiful  garments,  and  go  forth  to  battle  against  sin 
and  uncleanness,  "fair  as  the  moon,  bright  as  the  sun, 
and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners."  Then  shall  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  become  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
his  Christ. 

"Then  shall  righteousness  prevail,  even  as  the  waters 
cover  the  channels  of  the  great  deep.  The  lion  and  the 
lamb  shall  lie  down  together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead 
them." 

"  How  sweet,  how  heavenly  is  the  sight. 
When  those  that  love  the  Lord, 
In  one  another's  peace  delight. 
And  so  fulfill  his  word. 

"When  each  can  feel  his  brother's  sigh. 
And  with  him  bear  a  part; 
When  sorrow  flows  from  eye  to  eye. 
And  joy  from  heart  to  heart." 


RTA  -C-arroUJtC?  PulHsters.Cinciimati  0. 


ROBERT  MILLIGAN. 


ROBERT  MILLIGAN  was  born  in  the  county  of  Tyrone,  Ireland, 
July  25,  1814.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  America  in  1818,  and 
lived  in  Trumbull  County,  Ohio,  for  several  years.  In  1831,  he  entered 
Zelienople  Academy,  in  Beaver  County,  Pennsylvania,  and,  in  1833,  en- 
tered the  Classical  Academy  at  Jamestown,  Crawford  County,  Pennsylva- 
nia, then  under  the  Presidency  of  Mr.  John  Gamble,  a  distinguished  grad- 
uate of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  In  this  academy,  he  com- 
pleted a  very  thorough  course  of  Latin  and  Greek,  and  devoted  some  time 
to  the  elements  of  English  literature  and  mathematics. 

He  was  striftly  educated  in  the  standards  of  the  Associate  Presbyterians — 
his  father  being  a  ruling  elder  in  that  Church — and,  in  1835,  became  a 
member  of  the  Associate  Presbyterian  body,  and  was  greatly  esteemed  for 
his  piety  and  faithfulness  by  all  who  knew  him. 

In  1837,  he  opened  a  classical  school  at  Flat  Rock,  in  Bourbon  County, 
Kentucky,  and,  while  engaged  at  that  point,  some  of  his  students  were  in 
the  habit  of  asking  him  for  the  exaft  meaning  of  sundry  passages  in  the 
Greek  Testament,  and,  for  the  first  time,  he  was  thus  providentially  made 
to  realize  the  great  responsibility  of  the  man  who  presumes  to  interpre' 
for  others  the  oracles  of  God.  He  resolved  to  divest  himself  of  all  the 
bias  and  prejudice  of  his  previous  education,  and  to  know  the  will  of  God 
as  it  is  revealed  to  us  in  the  original  Greek  and  Hebrew,  and  to  make  that 
will  the  rule  and  guide  of  his  life.  He  accordingly  re-examined  the  whole 
grounds  of  his  religious  faith,  and  the  result  was,  that,  in  March,  1838,  he 
was  immersed  by  Elder  John  Irvine,  of  the  Church  at  Cane  Ridge,  Bour- 
bon County,  Kentucky. 

In  1839,  entered  Washington  College,  Pennsylvania,  where,  in  1840, 
he  received  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  and,  in  1843,  the  degree  of  A.  M.  In 
1840,  one  session  before  he  graduated,  he  was  elefted  by  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Washington  College  to  the  vacant  Chair  of  English  Litera- 
ture. In  this  department  he  labored  nine  and  a  half  years,  in  the  meantime, 
however,  giving  instruftion  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics,  as  well  as  in 
English  literature.     He  was  transferred,  in  1850,  to  the  Chair  of  Chem- 

C369) 


37° 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


istry  and  Natural  History,  in  the  same  college,  and,  in  1852,  resigned  this 
position,  and  accepted  the  Chair  of  Mathematics  in  the  State  University 
of  Indiana;  but,  at  the  request  of  the  Board,  he  was  soon  transferred  to 
the  Chair  of  Chemistry,  Natural  Philosophy,  and  Astronomy.  In  1854, 
he  accepted  the  Chair  of  Mathematics  in  Bethany  College,  and,  the  fol- 
lowing year,  was  made  an  Elder  of  the  Church  at  Bethany,  and  became 
co-editor  of  the  "Millennial  Harbinger."  In  all  these  departments  his 
labors  were  highly  appreciated,  and  Bethany  College  and  the  Church  there 
were  never  more  prosperous  than  while  he  was  connected  with  them. 

In  1859,  accepted  the  Presidency  of  Kentucky  University,  and  the 
Chair  of  Sacred  History  and  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy.  In  these 
positions  he  labored  most  earnestly  and  faithfully,  managing  the  University 
with  such  prudence  that  it  was  not  suspended  a  single  day,  at  a  time  when 
almost  all  other  institutions  of  learning  in  the  State  were  closed,  on  account 
of  the  civil  war.  When,  in  1 866,  the  University  was  moved  to  Lexing- 
ton, he  was,  at  his  own  request,  relieved  from  the  Presidency  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  his  labors  confined  to  the  College  of  the  Bible.  The  Board 
unanimously  elefted  him  Professor  of  Sacred  Literature,  and  Presiding  Offi- 
cer of  that  college.  He  still  occupies  that  position,  and  is  doing  a  great 
and  good  work  in  preparing  young  men  for  the  ministry.  Eternity  alone 
can  reveal  the  value  of  his  services  in  his  present  department  of  labor. 

It  will  be  seen,  by  this  brief  record  of  events,  that  President  Milligan's 
aftive  life  has  been  chiefly  occupied  in  teaching,  and,  furthermore,  that  he 
has  taught  nearly  every  branch  in  the  college  curriculum.  The  immense 
amount  ot  labor  necessary  to  prepare  for  all  these  departments  has  severely 
taxed  his  constitution,  which,  though  never  very  rugged,  is  now  seriously 
impaired.  Nothing  dispirited,  however,  he  continues  to  labor  on  in  the 
cause  of  Christ  with  a  zeal  and  constancy  that  acknowledge  no  discour- 
agements. 

His  connexion  with  the  various  colleges,  already  referred  to,  was  of 
great  advantage  to  him,  and  gave  him  an  unusually  large  experience  among 
diiFerent  classes  of  distinguished  men,  and  this  experience  is  now  of  great 
value  to  him  in  discharging  the  duties  of  his  present  position. 

President  Milligan  is  a  ripe  scholar,  an  excellent  preacher,  and,  as  a 
teacher,  has  no  superior  in  all  the  land.  He  has  written  considerable  for 
the  periodicals  of  the  Disciples,  and  has  recently  published  a  valuable  work, 
entitled  "Reason  and  Revelation;  or,  the  Province  of  Reason  in  Matters 
Pertaining  to  Divine  Revelation."  This  work  is  intended  for  schools,  col- 
leges, and  private  families,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  extensive  circulation, 
and  will  certainly  do  much  good  in  giving  the  public  proper  views  concern- 
ing the  origin,  charafter,  and  interpretation  of  the  Word  of  God. 


THE  SAFETY  AND  SECURITY  OF  THE 
CHRISTIAN. 


BY  R.  MILLIGAN. 


"And  we  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God;  to  them  who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose." — Romans 
viii:  28. 

IT  is  a  question  which,  I  suppose,  is  likely  to  occur 
sometimes,  even  to  the  most  pious,  whether  the  Chris- 
tian, having  done  all  that  he  possibly  can  do  to  inherit 
eternal  life,  will  certainly  enjoy  it;  or  whether  he  may  not, 
like  many  a  poor,  unfortunate  adventurer  in  the  affairs  of 
earth,  be  finally  and  for  ever  disappointed. 

It  seems  to  me  that  this  question  is  very  clearly  and 
definitely  answered  in  the  words  of  my  text.  For,  if  all 
things  work  together  for  his  good,  then  surely  the  possibility 
of  his  failure  and  final  disappointment  is  utterly  out  of 
the  question. 

True,  indeed,  the  child  of  God,  during  his  present  state 
of  trial  and  discipline,  may,  like  other  men,  be  subjedled 
to  many  severe  afBidlions,  temptations,  and  privations. 
Like  Job,  he  may  have  to  suffer  the  loss  of  all  his  prop- 
erty. He  may  lose  his  friends.  And  even  his  very  life 
may  be  sacrificed  by  the  diabolical  hate  and  malice  of  his 
enemies.    But,  the  Bible  being  true,  all  these  temporal 

C37O 


372 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


losses  will  result  in  his  eternal  gain.  For  while  God  rules 
the  universe,  all  things  must  and  will  work,  together  for  the 
good  of  those  that  love  him.  These  light  afflidlions,  which 
are  but  momentary,  must  serve  to  work  out  for  them  a  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory  (2  Cor.  iv: 
17),  so  that  no  absolute  evil  can  ever  befall  any  one  of 
them. 

And  the  reason  of  this  is,  that  God  has  so  ordained  it. 
Christianity  is  not  an  experiment.  God  is  not  a  man,  that 
he  should  make  experiments.  Our  knowledge  is  limited; 
and  hence  it  follows,  of  necessity,  that  our  schemes  of  gov- 
ernment, finance,  education,  and  internal,  as  well  as  exter- 
nal improvements,  are  all  the  result  of  many  experiments. 
But  God  makes  no  experiments.  "Known  unto  him  are 
all  his  works  from  eternity."  (A(51:s  xv  :  18.)  He  knows 
not  only  what  is,  and  what  certainly  will  be;  but  he  also 
knows  what  would  result  from  any  and  every  conceivable 
change  of  circumstances.  (Deut.  xxviii ;  and  [  Sam.  xxiii : 
10-12.)  And  hence  it  follows,  that  every  thing  pertaining 
to  the  scheme  of  Redemption  was  well  understood,  and 
clearly  defined  and  arranged  in  the  Divine  mind,  before  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  were  laid.  Before  the  morning- 
stars  sang  together,  and  the  Sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy, 
God  perfedlly  understood  who  would,  in  the  courseof  future 
ages,  be  disposed  to  love,  serve,  and  obey  him.  And  for 
the  benefit  of  all  such,  he  provided,  in  his  remedial  plan 
and  purpose,  every  thing  that  was  necessary  in  order  to 
their  being  called,  and  justified,  and  sanftified,  and  glori- 
fied. (Rom.  viii:  29,  30,  and  Eph.  i:  3-14.) 

To  some  persons  all  this  may  seem  very  much  like  the  old 
and,  we  hope,  almost  obsolete  theory  of  unconditional  elec- 
tion and  reprobation.  Indeed  there  is,  perhaps,  no  passage 
in  the  whole  Bible  that  has  been  more  frequently  quoted  in 


R.  MILLIGAN. 


373 


support  of  this  doftrine  than  that  which  we  have  now  under 
consideration.  But,  nevertheless,  I  am  persuaded  that  a 
little  calm  and  sober  refledion  will  suffice  to  convince  at 
least  all  honest  doubters  on  this  subjedl,  that  there  is  not, 
in  this  whole  connexion,  the  shadow  of  a  foundation  for 
such  a  hypothesis.  For  observe,  these  decrees  of  secur- 
ity and  final  triumph  rest  wholly  on  the  assumption,  that 
the  persons  to  whom  they  refer  shall  have  first  become 
lovers  of  God.  Take  away  this  charaderistic  or  moral  at- 
tribute from  any  man,  and  the  aforesaid  decrees  have  no 
reference  to  him  whatever.  This  is  evident  from  both  the 
text  and  the  context.  "And  we  know,"  says  the  apostle, 
"that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God;  to  them  who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose. 
For  whom  he  did  foreknow,"  as  about  to  become  his 
humble,  faithful,  loving,  and  obedient  children,  "he  also 
did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son,  that  he  might  be  the  first-born  among  many  breth- 
ren. Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also 
called,"  in  his  purpose ;  "  and  whom  he  called,"  in  his  pur- 
pose, "them  he  also,"  in  like  manner,  "justified;  and 
whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified." 

Evidently,  then,  these  decrees  and  assurances  have  ref- 
erence only  to  the  lovers  of  God.  But  we  all  know  that 
love  can  not  be  the  result  of  any  arbitrary  decree  or  enadl- 
ment.  All  the  decrees  of  heaven  and  earth  can  not  make 
any  man,  constituted  as  he  is,  love  that  which  is  unlovely, 
or  which  he  is  not  disposed  to  love.  We  love  that  in 
which  we  perceive  the  attributes  of  loveliness.  And  hence 
it  is  said,  "We  love  God,  because  he  first  loved  us."  (i 
John  iv:  19.)  And  when  love  is  thus  generated  in  our 
hearts,  it  leads  us  to  a  perfedl  and  unreserved  obedience. 
For  "love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  (Romans  xiii:  10.) 


374 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


And  as  long  as  we  love  God  with  all  our  hearts,  and  souls, 
and  minds,  and  strength,  and  do  his  commandments,  so 
long  God  is  faithful,  and  will  not  allow  any  absolute  evil  to 
befall  any  one  of  us. 

All  this,  then,  is  very  plain,  and  simple,  and  rational, 
The  argument  of  the  apostle,  in  this  case,  is  just  such  \ 
one  as  you  would  severally  employ,  if  you  were  endeav- 
oring to  persuade  your  friends  and  relatives  of  other  lands 
to  become  citizens  of  this  Republic.  In  such  a  case,  you 
would,  of  course,  say  much  about  the  fertility  of  our  soil, 
the  salubrity  of  our  climate,  the  vast  resources  of  our 
country,  the  enterprise,  intelligence,  and  moral  charadter 
of  our  citizens.  But  you  would  dwell  particularly,  and 
with  special  emphasis,  on  the  liberal  provisions  of  our  Con- 
stitution^ on  the  chartered  rights  and  privileges  of  every  faith- 
ful American  citizen.  You  would  assure  your  friends  that 
if  they  would  renounce  their  allegiance  to  all  other  govern- 
ments, and  become  citizens  of  these  United  States,  that 
in  that  event,  all  the  powers  and  resources  of  this  vast  and 
mighty  Republic  would  then  be  pledged  for  their  security 
and  protection. 

Now,  suppose  that  your  arguments  should  prevail,  and 
that  many  of  your  friends  should  really  leave  their  foreign 
homes,  and  become  American  citizens  ;  would  any  one  in 
his  senses  even  imagine  that  there  was  any  thing  compul- 
sory in  the  case  ?  that  this  change  of  citizenship  was  ow- 
ing to  any  decrees  of  necessity  or  fatality  passed  by  the 
framers  of  our  Constitution  ?  Would  any  one  suppose 
that  these  persons  were  deprived  of  their  free  agency,  and 
made  the  mere  tools  and  chattels  of  our  Government  ? 
That  their  being  once  citizens  of  our  Republic  implies, 
of  necessity,  that  they  shall  always  remain  so?  that  hence- 
forth they  have  no  power  whatever  to  expatriate  them- 


R.  MILLIGAN. 


375 


selves;  and  that  even  if  they  should  do  so,  our  Govern- 
ment would  still  be  under  obligations  to  extend  over  them 
the  shield  of  our  Republic  ?  that  they  could  rightfully 
claim  the  honors  and  protection  of  our  flag  in  a  foreign 
land,  even  after  they  had  renounced  their  allegiance  to  our 
Government,  and  become  the  sworn  and  naturalized  citi- 
zens or  another  nation  ?  No  one  would  so  reason.  No 
one  would  so  imagine.  The  most  that  could  be  claimed 
for  these  persons,  in  any  case,  would  be  the  proted:ion  of 
our  Government  so  long  as  they  remained  in  the  relation 
of  its  faithful  citizens  and  subjeds. 

And  just  so  it  is  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  There  is 
nothing  in  its  constitution,  or  its  laws,  or  its  administra- 
tion, that  in  the  slightest  degree  interferes  with  the  per- 
sonal liberty  and  voluntary  agency  of  any  man,  whether 
he  be  a  citizen  or  an  alien.  But,  so  long  as  he  is  loyal  to 
its  King,  and  faithful  to  its  laws,  all  the  powers  and  re- 
sources of  the  universe  are  pledged  for  his  safety  and  se- 
curity. 

The  objed  of  the  apostle,  in  this  sedion  of  the  epistle, 
is  to  encourage  his  Roman  brethren  to  endure  patiently 
their  many  trials,  sufferings,  and  afflidions.  For  this 
purpose,  he  draws  an  argument;  first,  from  the  lightness 
and  insignificance  of  these,  their  present  tribulations,  com- 
pared with  the  glory  that  is  afterward  to  be  revealed,  and 
of  which  all  who  now  suffer  patiently  for  the  sake  of  Christ, 
will  be  finally  made  partakers.  His  second  argument  is 
drawn  from  the  assistance,  and  consolations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  It  lays  hold  of  our  burdens,  helps  our  infirmities, 
and  makes  intercession  for  us,  even  by  and  through  our 
inarticulate  groanings;  and  finally,  in  the  language  of  our 
text,  and  the  following  context,  he  calls  the  attention  of 
the  saints — to  and  for  whom  he  is  writing — to  the  Consti- 


376 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


tution  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  the  unbounded  philanthropy 
and  resources  of  their  reigning  Sovereign.  He  unrolls 
the  volume  of  God's  decrees  ;  and  there  he  finds  it  clearly 
and  indubitably  recorded,  as  the  immutable  purpose  of 
Jehovah,  that  all  the  riches,  and  treasures,  and  resources 
of  the  universe  shall  be  made  tributary  to  the  present  and 
eternal  well-being  of  his  children,  and  that  all  things  shall 
work  together  for  their  good,  so  that  neither  death,  nor 
life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things 
present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor 
any  other  creature,  can  ever  really  injure  or  separate  from 
God's  infinite  love,  the  weakest  and  humblest  saint  that 
confides  in  him. 

"In  every  condition,  in  sickness,  in  health, 
In  poverty's  vail,  or  abounding  in  wealth; 
At  home  and  abroad,  on  the  land,  on  the  sea. 
As  their  days  may  demand,  so  their  succor  shall  be." 

I  am  fully  aware  that  we  are  slow  of  heart  to  believe 
these  great  and  precious  promises.  We  look  out  upon 
the  world,  and  we  see  that  the  good,  as  well  as  the  bad, 
are  subjeft  to  heavy  losses  and  severe  afflictions.  And 
hence,  we  are  prone  to  become  skeptical,  and  to  say,  with 
the  practical  atheist,  that  the  government  of  the  world  is 
all  a  matter  of  chance;  and  that  Dame  Fortune  is  still, 
ever  and  anon,  from  her  rolling  pedestal,  dispensing  her 
gifts  without  regard  to  either  the  charadler  or  the  destiny 
of  mankind. 

But  this  is  all  a  delusion — a  delusion  that  arises  from 
a  still  more  alarming  and  fundamental  delusion.  We  are 
all,  alas!  too  prone  to  look  upon  this  world  as  our  home; 
and  .upon  its  riches,  and  its  honors,  and  its  pleasures,  as 
the  portion  of  our  souls  ;  and  hence  we  are,  perhaps,  all 


R.  MILLJGAN. 


377 


too  m^'^.b  inclined  to  estimate  our  fortunes  and  our  hap- 
piness by  our  success  in  our  efforts  to  accumulate  these 
thing'-  for  o\irselves  and  for  our  children. 

But  the  Scriptures  teach  us — and  our  own  experience 
Rnd  observation  teach  us — that  God  himself  is  the  only 
satisfying  portion  of  the  human  soul ;  and  that  to  attempt 
Lo  li.l  it,  K>r  lo  satisfy  it,  with  any  thing  else,  is  like  at- 
tempting 

"  To  fill  the  ocean  with  a  drop. 
To  marry  Immortality  to  Death ; 
And  with  the  unsubstantial  shades  of  time 
To  fill  the  embrace  of  all  eternity!" 

• 

They  //rach  us,  moreover,  that  if  we  would  enjoy  God 
as  the  liff:  and  portion  of  our  souls,  we  must  be  like  him  ; 
we  musf  become  holy  as  he  is  holy.  (Heb.  xii :  14,  and 
I  Peter  i:  16.)  And  hence,  it  follows  that  all  of  God's 
gifts  to  man  are  to  be  estimated  in  the  ratio  of  their  tend- 
ency to  this  end  ;  that  is,  in  proportion  as  they  serve  to 
bring  us  to  God,  to  make  us  like  him,  and  to  unite  us  to 
him,  as  the  only  eternal  and  unwasting  fountain  of  life 
and  happiness.  If  the  riches,  and  honors,  and  pleasures 
of  the  world  have,  in  any  case,  such  a  tendency,  they  are 
3  blessing  to  their  possessor.  But  if  they  have  the  oppo- 
site tendency,  if  they  serve  to  blind  the  understanding, 
and  to  draw  away  the  heart  from  God,  they  are  just  so  far 
a  curse,  and  an  occasion  of  evil. 

Now,  that  they  often  have  the  latter  tendency  is,  alas! 
but  too  evident  to  every  man  of  observation  and  experi- 
ence. All  that  we  see,  and  all  that  we  know  of  such  mat- 
ters, is  but  an  impressive  commentary  on  the  words  of 
our  Savior,  that  a  rich  man,  or  a  man  devoted  to  the  hon- 
0  3  and  pleasures  of  the  world,,  can  hardly  enter  into  the 


378 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


kingdom  of  God.  (Matt,  xix :  24;  John  v:  44.)  And 
hence  it  follows  that  poverty  may  sometimes  be  better 
than  riches ;  that  the  frowns  of  the  world  may  be  better 
than  its  honors;  and  that  even  sickness,  and  extreme  suf- 
fering, and  destitution  of  physical  comforts,  may  be  far 
greater  blessings  than  an  abundance  of  all  things  that  min- 
ister to  our  sensual  gratifications  and  animal  enjoyments. 
(Luke  xvi :  19-31.) 

Suffering  is  a  necessity,  and,  if  you  please,  a  terrible  ne- 
cessity, designed  and  ordained  by  God  as  a  means  of  puri- 
fying our  hearts,  and  of  enabling  us  to  overcome  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh,  the  lusts  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life. 
(Heb.  xii :  6-1 1.)  And  hence,  David  could  truthfully 
say:  "It  was  good  for  me,  that  I  was  afilidled;  that  I 
might  learn  thy  statutes."  (Psalm  cxix  :  71.)  And  hence, 
too,  Paul  could  say,  in  behalf  of  all  his  Christian  breth- 
ren:  "We  glory  in  tribulations  also;  knowing  that  trib- 
ulation works  patience  ;  and  patience,  experience  ;  and  ex- 
perience, hope."  (Rom.  v:  3,  4.) 

But  all  these  tribulations  and  afBidtions  are  in  the  hand 
of  God,  and  under  his  control,  just  as  fully  and  as  per- 
feftly  as  are  the  means  of  our  present  physical  comforts 
and  enjoyments.  "Is  there  evil,"  says  he,  "in  the  city, 
and  the  Lord  has  not  done  it?"  (Amos  iii :  6.)  And 
again,  he  says  to  Cyrus  :  "  I  form  the  light,  and  create 
darkness;  I  make  peace,  and  create  evil.  I,  the  Lord, 
do  all  these  things."  (Isa.  xlv :  7.)  And  hence  it  is  that 
he  measures  out  to  us,  day  by  day,  our  necessary  portion  of 
discipline,  as  well  as  our  necessary  portion  of  food.  He 
willfully  grieves  and  afflicts  no  one;  but,  as  our  great  and 
benevolent  Educator,  he  simply  diredls,  and  governs,  and 
controls  all  things,  so  as  to  make  them  work  together  for 
the  good  of  his  chosen. 


R.  MILLIGAN. 


379 


If  any  of  my  readers  should  ask  how  God  accomplishes 
all  this — how  it  is  that  he  allows  no  absolute  evil  to  be- 
fall any  of  his  children — I  must,  in  that  event,  plead  ig- 
norance. I  can  answer  the  question  but  in  part.  It  is 
not  tc  be  expeded  that  the  finite  should  comprehend  the 
infinite.  It  is  not  to  be  expecfled  that  such  beings  as  we 
are,  who  live  in  houses  of  clay,  whose  foundation  is  in  the 
dust,  should,  in  any  case,  or  under  any  circumstances, 
comprehend  the  vast  schemes,  and  purposes,  and  resources 
of  Jehovah.  Mystery  is  written  on  all  the  works  and 
ways  of  God.  It  is  seen  in  the  heavens  above  us.  It  is 
seen  in  the  earth  beneath  us.  It  is  seen  in  our  own  con- 
stitution. It  is  seen  on  every  page  of  the  three  great 
volumes  of  creation,  providence,  and  redemption.  Such 
themes,  therefore,  as  the  one  proposed,  are  too  high  for 
us — too  wonderful  for  us  to  comprehend  perfeftly. 

The  subjed:,  however,  is  not  entirely  beyond  our  knowl- 
edge. We  may  all  understand  it  in  part:  perhaps,  indeed, 
IS  far  as  is  necessary  for  our  comfort  and  our  happiness. 
Something  very  similar  to  it  is  .seen  in  the  care  that  every 
parent  exercises  over  his  children.  Owing  to  their  igno- 
rance, inexperience,  and  waywardness,  they  are  constantly 
exposed  to  danger,  accidents,  and  harm.  But  their  father 
loves  them,  and  cares  for  them.  His  knowledge  becomes 
their  instrudor ;  his  experience,  their  monitor;  his  wis- 
dom, their  guide;  and  his  power,  their  shield  and  protec- 
tion. Now,  we  have  only  to  suppose  that  the  attributes, 
capacity,  and  resources  of  the  father  are  infinite,  and  then, 
on  this  hypothesis,  all  is  well  with  the  children.  Then, 
indeed,  they  will  not  only  be  saved  from  a  thousand  ills 
and  misfortunes,  but  all  things  will  also  work  together  for 
their  good,  under  the  government  and  administration  of 
such  a  guardian. 


j8o 


THE  I  IVING  PULPIT. 


But  this  supposition  is  fully  realized  in  the  Divine  char- 
ader  and  infinite  resources  of  our  heavenly  Father.  All 
the  laws,  and  forces,  and  ordinances  of  nature  are  at  his 
disposal ;  and,  if  these  are  not  sufficient,  he  has  but  to 
command,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  angels 
are  at  once  present  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation. 
(Psalm'xxxiv:  7;  Matt,  xviii:  10;  Heb.  i:  14.)  And, 
if  any  thing  more  is  wanting  to  consummate  their  safety, 
their  security,  and  their  happiness,  he  has  only  to  draw 
on  the  infinite  resources  of  his  own  Divinity,  and  their 
wants  are  all  supplied.  He  has  but  to  speak  the  word, 
and  their  tribulations  are  all  ended ;  their  graves  are 
opened ;  their  bodies  are  clothed  with  light,  as  with  a  gar- 
ment; and  their  souls  are  filled  with  the  joys  and  trans- 
ports of  life  and  immortality  !  "If,"  then,  "God  be  for 
us,  who  can  be  against  us.''  He  that  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  will  he  not 
with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  Who  will  lay 
any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  eled  ?  It  is  God  that 
justifies:  who  is  he  that  condemns?  It  is  Christ  that 
died  for  us;  yea,  rather  that  has  risen  ;  who  is  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  and  who  also  intercedes  for  us.  Who  shall 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ Shall  afflidion,  or 
distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  dan- 
ger, or  sword  ?  .  .  .  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are 
more  than  conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us."  (Rom. 
viii :  37-) 

The  ability  of  our  heavenly  Father  to  so  manage  all 
the  infinitely  diversified  interests  of  his  government,  as  to 
cause  all  things  to  work  together  for  the  good  of  his  chil- 
dren, has  been  very  clearly  and  very  beautifully  illustrated 
in  the  fulfillment  of  many  other  great  and  precious  prom- 
ises.    Take,  for  instance,  the  first  implied  promise  of 


R.  MILLIGAN. 


381 


mercy  to  fallen  man.  "  I  will  put  enmity,"  said  God  to 
the  serpent,  "between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between 
thy  seed  and  her  seed:  it  shall  bruise  thy  head;  and  thou 
shalt  bruise  his  heel."  (Gen.  iii :  15.) 

How  very  improbable,  to  the  eye  of  sense  and  reason, 
did  the  proper  fulfillment  of  this  promise  appear,  for  a 
long  time.  The  very  first  of  woman-born  was  a  mur- 
derer— a  slave  of  the  Old  Serpent.  And,  after  the  lapse 
of  about  sixteen  hundred  years,  we  find  millions  under 
his  banner,  arrayed  against  the  government  and  interests 
of  the  Promised  Seed.  Time  rolled  on;  and,  soon  again 
after  the  flood,  nearly  the  whole  world  was  given  up  to 
the  idolatrous  worship  of  the  Old  Serpent.  The  service 
of  Jehovah  was  confined  to  a  little  distrid;  in  Western 
Asia.  And  even  there,  how  often  was  the  land  stained 
with  blood,  and  polluted  with  every- species  of  abomin- 
ation; until,  finally,  the  sin  of  even  God's  chosen  people 
culminated  in  the  betrayal  and  crucifixion  of  the  Promised 
Seed. 

True,  indeed,  viewed  from  the  proper  stand-point,  this 
was  a  mighty  triumph  over  the  Old  Serpent.  Christ,  in 
this  case,  but  stooped  to  conquer ;  and  hence,  for  a  time, 
nis  cause  triumphed  gloriously.  But  soon  again  the  forces 
of  Satan  were  rallied.  The  Church  was  driven,  like  a  poor 
disconsolate  widow,  into  the  wilderness,  for  the  long  period 
of  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty  years.  And  at 
the  close  of  this  period,  in  A.  D.  1793,  when  the  perse- 
cuting power  of  the  Man  of  Sin  was  broken  by  means  of 
the  French  Revolution,  there  really  seemed  to  be  but  little 
of  pure  Christianity  left  in  the  world. 

But  since  that  ever-memorable  epoch,  how  great  has 
been  the  change,  and  how  mighty  have  been  the  triumphs 
of  truth  over  error !     Every  thing  pertaining  to  Christian 


382 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


civilization  is  rapidly  advancing.  The  Church  is  coming 
up  out  of  the  wilderness,  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the 
sun,  and,  to  her  foes,  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners. 
The  apocalyptic  angel  is  even  now  "flying  through  the 
midst  of  heaven,  having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach  to 
every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people."  (Rev. 
xiv:  6.)  And  every  thing  in  the  signs  of  the  times,  as  well 
as  in  prophecy,  seems  to  indicate  that  the  time  is  at  hand 
when  "the  kingdom,  and  the  dominion,  and  the  greatness 
of  the  kingdom,  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given 
to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom;  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey 
him."  (Daniel  vii.) 

How  true  it  is,  then,  that  all  the  promises  of  God  are 
yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus.  (2  Cor.  i:  20.)  And  how 
exceedingly  great  is  the  security,  the  consolation,  and  the 
happiness  of  those  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  our  glori- 
ous Immanuel,  and  laid  hold  on  the  hopes  and  the  prom- 
ises that  are  in  him.  Nothing  can  ever  molest  them  to 
their  real  injury.  They  may,  indeed,  for  a  time,  like  the 
Church,  be  driven  into  the  wilderness;  or,  like  their  Re- 
deemer, they  may  have  to  pass  through  the  furnace  of 
afflidion.  But,  in  the  end,  it  will  all  be  for  their  good. 
And,  with  Job,  they  will  each  have  reason  to  say,  "  Though 
he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him."  (Job  xiii:  15.) 

There  is  just  one  thing,  therefore,  and  but  one,  about 
which  we  should  all  be  extremely  solicitous.  It  is  not  nec- 
essary to  be  anxious  about  what  we  shall  eat,  and  what 
we  shall  drink,  and  wherewithal  we  shall  be  clothed.  If 
God  takes  care  of  the  sparrows,  and  even  clothes  with 
beauty  and  loveliness  the  lilies  of  the  field,  he  will  not  for- 
get his  children.  But  that  which  is  now  to  us  of  para- 
mount importance,  is  to  know  certainly,  that  we. are  his  chil- 


R.  MILLIGAN. 


dren ;  to  be  ferfeBly  sure  that  we  do  really  love  the  Lord 
with  all  our  hearts,  and  souls,  and  minds,  and  strength. 
If  we  do  this,  we  may  safely  leave  all  the  rest  to  God. 
Our  bread  will  then  be  given  us,  and  our  water  will  be 
sure.    ^  _^ 

Oifthis  important  q^uestion,  then,  the  evidence  of  the 
Scriptures  is  ver)  clear  and  satisfactory.  ^'^  If  ye  love  me" 
says  Christ,  "keep  my  commandments."  (John  xiv :  1 5.)  And 
again,  in  the  same  discourse,  he  adds:  "He  that  hath  my 
commandments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me." 
(John  xiv:  11.  See,  also,  i  John  v:  3.)  Obedience,  then, 
is  made  the  test  of  our  love,  as  it  is  also  made  the  only 
sure  criterion  of  our  faith.  (James  ii:  14—26.)  And  hence 
it  is,  that  in  the  final  judgment,  the  destiny  of  every  man 
will  be  made  to  depend,  not  direftly  on  the  degree  and  in- 
tensity of  his  faith,  but  on  the  evidences  of  his  faith;  not 
diredly  on  the  purity  and  strength  of  his  love,  but  on  the 
evidences  of  his  love. 

Hear,  on  this  point,  the  testimony  of  the  Great  Judge 
himself:  "When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory, 
and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  on  the 
throne  of  his  glory.  And  before  him  shall  be  gathered 
all  nations:  and  he  shall  separate  them  one  from  another, 
as  a  shepherd  divides  his  sheep  from  the  goats:  and  he 
will  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the 
left.  Then  will  the  King  say  to  them  on  his  right  hand, 
Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world:  for  T 
was  hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  meat;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye 
gave  me  drink;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in  ;  naked, 
and  ye  clothed  me;  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me;  I  was 
in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me.  Then  will  the  right- 
eous answer  him,  saying:   Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  hun- 


3^4 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


gry,  and  fed  thee?  or  thirsty,  and  gave  thee  drink?  When 
saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  ?  or  naked,  and 
clothed  thee  ?  or  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and 
came  to  thee  ?  And  the  King  will  answer,  and  say  to 
them  :  Verily,  I  say  to  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it 
to  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
to  me.  Then  will  he  say  to  them  on  his  left  hand:  De- 
part from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels:  for  I  was  hungry,  and  ye 
gave  me  no  meat;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink; 
I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in;  naked,  and  ye 
clothed  me  not;  sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me 
not.  Then  shall  they  also  answer  him,  saying :  Lord, 
when  saw  we  thee  hungry,  or  thirsty,  or  a  stranger,  or 
naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  to  thee? 
Then  will  he  answer  them,  saying :  Verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these, 
ye  did  it  not  to  me.  And  these  shall  go  away  into  ever- 
lasting punishment;  but  the  righteous  into  everlasting 
life."  (Matt.  XXV :  31-46.) 

Dear  hearer,  where  will  you  be  on  that  great  day?  And 
what  sentence  will  you  hear  from  the  lips  of  the  Omnis- 
cient and  Omnipotent  Judge?  Do  you  love  God  with  all 
your  heart,  and  soul,  and  mind,  and  strength?  If  so,  are 
you  keeping  his  commandments  ?  Do  you  believe,  with 
all  your  heart,  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah — the  Son  of  the 
Living  God?  Have  you  repented  of  all  your  sins  ?  Have 
you  openly  and  publicly  confessed  the  name  of  Jesus  as 
your  only  and  all-sufficient  Savior?  Have  you,  by  his 
authority,  been  baptized  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit?  And  are  you  now 
giving  all  diligence  in  adding  to  your  faith,  virtue;  and  ''o 
virtue,  knowledge;  and  to  knowledge  temperance;  and 


R.  MILLIGAN. 


to  temperance,  patience;  and  to  patience,  godliness;  and 
to  godliness,  brotherly  kindness;  and  to  brotherly  kind- 
ness, love  to  all  men?  If  so,  all  is  well.  For  just  as  sure 
as  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigns,  if  you  continue  in 
these  things,  and  abound  in  them,  you  will  at  last  receive 
an  abundant  entrance  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  (a  Peter  i:  5-1 1.)  There 
God  himself  will  lead  you  to  fountains  of  living  water; 
and  there  he  will  himself  wipe  away  all  tears  from  your 
eyes.  That  this  may  be  your  happy  and  glorious  destiny 
is  my  humble  prayer,  for  Christ's  sake. 

The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of 
God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  with  you 
now,  and  remain  with  you  forever.  Amen. 


25 


JOHN  SHACKELFORD. 


JOHN  SHACKELFORD  was  born  in  Mason  County,  Kentucky,  on 
the  27th  of  Oftober,  1834.  His  paternal  ancestors  were  from  Wales; 
his  maternal,  from  Ireland.  His  paternal  grandparents  came  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  his  maternal,  from  New  Jersey.  His  immediate  parents  were 
both  born  in  Mason  County,  Kentucky. 

At  the  time  of  his  birth  his  mother  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  but  did  not  believe  in  infant  baptism;  consequently,  he  was  never 
sprinkled.  His  father  and  mother  united  with  the  Christian  Church  when 
he  was  about  ten  years  of  age.  His  father  soon  became  a  leading  member 
in  the  Church,  and  his  mother  was  a  deeply  pious  woman,  who  gave  spe- 
cial attention  to  the  religious  training  of  her  children.  Surrounded  by  these 
influences,  and  having  an  earnest  and  impressible  nature,  John  soon  became 
anxiously  interested  in  his  spiritual  welfare.  After  carefully  studying  his 
Bible,  and  listening  to  much  parental  instruftion,  on  the  5th  of  March,  at 
the  age  of  fourteen,  he  was  immersed  in  the  Ohio  River  by  Elder  James 
Challen. 

His  early  school  days  were  spent  in  Maysville,  Kentucky,  where  he  ob- 
tained a  good  rudimental  education,  and,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  entered 
Bethany  College,  Virginia.  He  remained  there  until  July  4,  1854,  when 
he  graduated,  and  returned  home,  and  taught  a  school  in  Mason  County 
for  two  years. 

During  this  time,  he  had  constantly  in  view  the  calling  to  which  he  has 
since  devoted  his  life.  Those  were  years  of  calm  but  earnest  preparation 
for  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  and,  so  soon  as  he  felt  the  time  had  come 
to  enter  upon  his  chosen  work,  he  at  once  gave  up  every  thing  else,  and 
devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 

His  first  labors  were  in  Mason  County,  and,  for  some  time,  he  had 
charge  of  the  Church  in  Maysville,  the  place  of  his  father's  residence, 
where  he  was  greatly  esteemed  for  his  faithfulness  and  earnestness  as  a 
pastor  and  teacher.  After  having  been  instrumental  in  doing  a  good  work 
in  his  native  county,  he  removed  to  Paris,  Kentucky,  to  labor  for  the 

(387) 


388 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Church  at  that  place.  He  remained  there  four  years,  and  then  accepted 
an  invitation  to  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Church  corner  of  Eighth  and 
Walnut  streets,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  His  health  failing,  in  the  spring  of 
1866,  he  gave  up  his  position,  and,  for  a  few  months,  traveled  for  the 
American  Christian  Missionary  Society,  and,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  this 
society,  the  subsequent  October,  he  was  appointed  its  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary, which  position  he  has  held  ever  since. 

A  few  words  in  reference  to  his  success  in  this  last  department  of  labor 
can  not  be  regarded  as  improper  or  out  of  place. 

When  he  took  the  Secretaryship,  his  friends  had  many  misgiving!  con- 
cerning his  adaptation  to  the  work.  The  pr9spe6ls  of  the  Society  were 
by  no  means  flattering,  and  the  labor  necessary  to  make  it  a  success  fell 
mainly  upon  the  Corresponding  Secretary.  Few  persons  had  much  faith 
in  the  ability  of  any  one  to  turn  the  discouraging  prospefts  of  the  Society 
into  permanent  success.  One  year  of  faithful  labor  has  been  expended, 
and  we  need  only  state  the  result:  A  larger  amount  of  money  was  raised 
than  ever  before,  while  the  prospefts  of  the  Society  are  better  than  at  any 
other  time  since  it  was  organized.  A  success  like  this  is  not  achieved  ex- 
cept by  earnest,  constant,  and  prayerful  work. 

Brother  Shackelford  is  of  medium  stature,  has  a  delicate,  feeble  constitu- 
tion, a  highly  nervous  temperament,  and  a  nature,  on  the  sympathetic  side, 
as  tender  and  susceptible  as  a  woman's.  He  has  light  hair,  large  blue  eyes, 
a  mouth  which  indicates  great  firmness,  and  a  forehead,  though  high,  less 
commanding  than  expressively  benevolent.  Every  feature  expresses  what 
he  really  is — a  man  of  large  conscientiousness,  deep  spiritual  longings,  and 
great  purity  of  thought  and  aftion.  He  has  very  little  of  the  sensuous  in 
his  nature,  and,  so  vivid  are  his  intuitions,  that  he  is  almost  a  prophet. 
As  a  speaker,  if  we  except  his  aftive  sympathy  with  all  kinds  of  suffering, 
he  has  few  of  the  elements  of  a  popular  orator.  His  illustrations  are  gen- 
erally apt  and  forcible,  but  his  powers  of  rapid  generalization  are  not  equal 
to  the  requirements  of  a  first-class  extemporaneous  speaker.  When,  how- 
ever, the  subjeft  of  discourse  is  one  that  deeply  touches  his  sympathies,  he 
is  always  impressive,  and  often  truly  eloquent.  Nevertheless,  his  style 
of  speaking  is  better  adapted  to  a  thoughtful,  seleft  audience,  than  to 
popular  assemblies. 

As  a  writer,  he  is  clear,  concise,  and  logical.  He  states  his  points 
well,  and  argues  them  in  a  forcible  and  convincing  manner.  So  far,  he 
has  never  been  afflidted  with  "  cacoethes  scribendi"  but  has  written  enough 
to  convince  us  that  he  can  wield  a  pen  of  more  than  ordinary  ability. 


THE  PRIESTHOOD  OF  CHRIST. 


BY  JOHN  SHACKELFORD. 


'*  For  it  is  evident  our  Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah ;  of  which  tribe  Moses 
spake' nothing  concerning  priesthood.  And  it  is  yet  far  more  evident:  for 
that  after  the  similitude  of  Melchisedec  there  ariseth  another  priest,  who 
is  made  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment,  but  after  the  power 
of  an  endless  life." — Heb.  vii :  14-16. 

THE  letter  to  the  Hebrews  treats  of  the  priesthood 
of  Christ.  Our  Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah,  of  which 
tribe  Moses  spake  nothing  concerning  the  priesthood. 
The  priests  were  selected  from  the  tribe  of  Levi.  This 
Jewish  objedlion  to  the  priesthood  of  Christ,  the  apostle 
answers  by  the  prophecy  in  the  one  hundred  and  tenth 
Psalm,  of  a  priest,  who  should  not  be  called  after  the  order 
of  Aaron,  but  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec — a  priest 
not  by  the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment,  but  after  the 
power  of  an  endless  life.  The  Jewish  priests  were  con- 
stituted such  by  their  descent  and  blood  ;  the  High  Priest 
.of  the  Christian  profession  by  the  eternal  fitness  of  things; 
because  he  alone  could  fill,  truly  and  faithfully,  the  un- 
changeable priesthood,  of  which  the  Jewish  high  priest- 
hood was  an  imposing,  yet  feeble  and  inadequate  type. 
Whoever  Melchisedec  was,  it  is  evident  that  he  was  called 
to  his  high  office  by  no  arbitrary  law  or  consecrated  cus- 


39° 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


torn,  but  in  consequence  of  the  purity  of  his  life,  and  the 
pre-eminence  of  his  gifts  and  virtues.  So  with  our  great 
High  Priest  who  has  entered  into  the  heavens.  He  is  a 
Priest  forever,  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 

My  argument  in  this  discourse  is  to  enforce  and  illus- 
trate this  truth.  Every  people  have  their  priests.  This 
fad:  bespeaks  a  universal  want.  Man  longs  for  an  inter- 
cessor with  God;  and  Job  uttered  a  purely  human  cry 
when  he  said :  "  I  have  no  daysman  to  stand  betwixt  me 
and  God,  that  he  might  lay  his  hand  upon  us  both." 

This  desire  for  priestly  intercession  may  spring  from  a 
sense  of  our  weakness,  and  helplessness,  and  sinfulness ; 
but,  whatever  its  source,  it  is  inherent  in  our  nature,  and 
can  not  be  quenched.  In  what  is  the  great  power  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  ?  Its  priesthood  and  confes- 
sional. It  meets  this  want  of  the  soul  inadequately,  im- 
perfeftly,  and  impurely;  but,  nevertheless,  meets  it  di- 
rectly and  tangibly.  If  a  famished  man  is  not  supplied 
with  proper  food,  he  will  seize  any  thing  within  his  reach; 
and  if  the  wants  and  longings  of  the  soul  are  not  lawfully 
and  purely  satisfied,  they  will  seek  unlawful  and  unholy 
gratification,  the  consequence  of  which  is  always  a  per- 
verted and  diseased  life.  Nature  abhors  a  vacuum ;  so  does 
the  soul.  If  Christ  does  not  fill  the  heart,  some  mon- 
strous idol  or  human  priest  will.  An  insincere  and  wan- 
ton priesthood  may  proclaim  a  false  peace  to  the  soul  de- 
pendent on  it  for  religious  life,  but  it  can  never  truly 
bless  and  strengthen.  Only  the  perfedl  Priest  can  lead  the 
soul  to  perfed  peace  and  a  true  life.  Christ  is  the  only 
perfed  Priest,  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 
Speaking  on  this  subjed,  the  apostle  says;  "The  law 
made  nothing  perfed,  but  the  bringing  in  of  a  better  hope 
did,  by  which  we  draw  nigh  unto  God." 


JOHN  SHACKELFORD. 


39» 


There  are  three  qualities  which  a  priest  must  possess — 
power,  purity,  sympathy. 

ist.  He  must  have  power  or  ability  to  save.  He  must 
be  invested  with  the  Divine  authority.  Destroy  the  con- 
fidence of  the  Catholic  girl  in  the  power  of  her  priest  to 
mediate  for  her  and  secure  the  pardon  of  her  sins,  and  you 
overthrow  her  religion  ;  she  will  abandon  the  confessional. 
That  the  priest  must  have  Divine  authority,  is  a  truth 
that  has  the  force  of  an  axiom.  Who  has  this  power  ? 
Not  the  Jewish  priests  ;  they  were  compassed  with  in- 
firmity. Not  the  priests  of  pagan  or  papal  Rome.  Who, 
then  ?  Listen  :  "  But  this  man,  because  he  continueth 
ever,  hath  an  unchangeable  priesthood.  Wherefore,  he  is 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  unto  God  by 
him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them." 
He  alone  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost.  The  Son  of 
Man  has  power  to  forgive  sins.  All  authority  is  his,  both 
in  heaven  and  upon  earth.  His  right  arm  will  never  fail 
him,  though  it  bear  across  the  tide  millions  of  weak, 
helpless,  heavy-laden,  but  trusting  souls.  The  mercy  and 
faithfulness  of  our  God  are  with  him.  He  is  his  first- 
born, higher  than  the  kings  of  the  earth. 

2d.  The  soul  demands  that  its  priest  shall  be  pure.  This 
manifests  itself  in  the  desire  for  the  prayers  of  good  men 
In  our  times  of  trouble.  Even  a  dying  man  would  sum- 
mon all  his  energies  to  spurn  the  prayer  of  a  hypocrite 
proffered  in  his  behalf.  Such  a  prayer  is  an  abomination 
to  God  and  man.  This  desire,  this  vital  necessity,  ex- 
presses itself  in  the  universal  demand  that  preachers  of  the 
Gospel  shall  be  pure  men.  A  preacher  is  not  a  priest, 
except  as  every  Christian  man  is  a  priest ;  but  he  is  called 
upon  to  discharge  certain  priestly  functions,  to  comfort 
the  sorrowful,  support  the  weak,  pray  with  the  dying;  and 


39^ 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  demand  for  his  personal  purity  is  as  righteous  as  it  is 
instindlive  and  universal. 

The  Jewish  high  priest  wore  on  his  forehead  a  plate  of 
pure  gold,  on  which  was  graven,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord," 
God  thus  declaring  the  holiness  of  the  office. 

Now,  our  High  Priest  alone  meets  this  demand  for  pur- 
ity perfeftly.  "  Such  a  high  priest  became  us,  who  is  holy, 
harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from  sinners,  and  made 
higher  than  the  heavens."  Mark  these  words  of  the  apos- 
tle :  "  Such  a  high  priest  became  us."  Not  that  we  have 
such  an  infinitely  pure  high  priest ;  not  that  it  is  fortu- 
nate that  we  have,  but  it  is  necessary,  "such  a  high  priest 
became  us."  No  other  could  fill  the  office  of  the  eternal 
priesthood. 

Consider,  my  brethren,  the  High  Priest  of  the  Christian 
profession.  Living  on  earth,  yet  undefiled  with  sin ;  keep- 
ing company  with  the  outcast,  but  only  to  bless  and  save 
them.  Our  purity  is  soon  lost;  we  leave  it  in  our  cradles. 
We  lay  off  our  innocence  with  our  child  garments.  But 
the  Son  of  Man  lived  a  holy  and  undefiled  life.  How 
beautiful !  how  wonderful !  that  human  life  of  pain,  hun- 
ger, sorrow,  thorns,  temptation,  and  death,  without  sin  I 
"  Such  a  high  priest  became  us,  who  is  holy,  harmless,  un- 
defiled, separate  from  sinners,  and  made  higher  than  the 
heavens." 

3d.  Sympathy.  We  need  a  priest  who  can  be  touched 
with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities.  He  must  be  pure,  to 
appear  before  God.  He  must  be  filled  with  all  human 
sympathies,  to  win  our  love  and  bear  our  burdens. 

The  mother  is  the  natural  mediator  between  father'and 
child.  Sometimes  the  case  is  reversed,  and  the  woman  has 
the  man's  nature,  and  the  man  the  woman's.  But  the  al- 
most universal  law  is,  that  the  mother  has  a  sympathy  with 


JOHN  SHACKELFORD. 


393 


her  child  that  no  other  being  has.  And  the  child  will  say 
to  the  mother,  "You  ask  father,"  when  it  has  any  request 
to  prefer.  Or,  in  case  of  an  infradlion  of  the  paternal  law, 
the  child  will  flee  to  the  covert  of  the  mother's  arms,  and 
trust  to  her  mediation  for  mercy. 

Not  only  in  childhood  is  it  so;  but  when  ambition,  and 
passion,  and  self-will  are  developed,  and  the  boy  is  rebell- 
ious, and  the  father  is  just,  it  is  the  wise,  gentle,  tender, 
sympathetic  mother  that  makes  peace,  and  wins  the  wan- 
derer back.  It  is  the  human  heart  of  Jesus  that  qualifies 
him  for  the  eternal  priesthood. 

"His  heart  is  full  of  tenderness; 
His  bosom  glows  with  love." 

"For  verily  he  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels,  but 
he  took  on  him  the  seed  of  Abraham.  Wherefore,  in  all 
things,  it  behooved  him  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren, 
that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  high  priest  in  things 
pertaining  unto  God,  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins 
of  the  people.  For  in  that  he  himself  hath  suffered,  being 
tempted,  he  is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted." 
Mark  these  words:  "//  behooved  him  to  be  made  in  all 
things  like  unto  his  brethren."  These  words  declare,  not 
simply  that  he  was  made  in  all  things  like  unto  his  breth- 
ren, but  that  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  made  in 
all  things  like  unto  his  brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  mer- 
ciful and  faithful  High  Priest. 

Again,  the  Scriptures  say:  "For  we  have  not  an  high 
priest  who  can  not  be  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirm- 
ities ;  but  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  with- 
out sin."  Our  sympathies  are  contracted.  Men  sympa- 
thize with  their  class.  The  rich  often  can  not  sympathize 
with  the  poor,  the  learned  with  the  ignorant,  men  with 


394 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


children.  But  Christ  can  sympathize  with  all.  He  under- 
stands the  heart  of  every  tempted  and  suffering  mortal. 
He  understands  the  peculiar  trials  and  perils  of  a  child's 
life.  He  has  borne  to  the  heavens  the  memory  of  a  child- 
hood spent  on  earth.  The  perils  that  beset  a  boy's  life 
are  many  and  imminent.  Untried,  unskilled,  pressed  by 
passion,  and  tempted  by  the  great  enemy,  the  early  years 
of  our  earthly  journey  are,  perhaps,  the  most  dangerous. 
Blessed  be  God,  children  have  a  tender  and  almighty 
Friend,  who  can  enter  into  all  their  sorrows,  and  succor 
them  in  all  their  temptations.  There  is  no  more  sublime 
and  beautiful  sight  than  the  struggle  of  a  child  to  be  true, 
and  pure,  and  good.  But  we  behold  it  with  a  fearful  joy, 
lest  the  vidory  should  be  lost  at  last.  The  passions  have 
a  power  and  urgency  to  evil  much  sooner  than  most  pa- 
rents think,  and  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  comes 
to  us  in  our  very  infancy.  Let  every  tempted  and  strug- 
gling child  be  taught  to  go  boldly  to  Christ,  and  find  mercy 
and  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need.  We  need  not  be  afraid 
to  trust  the  faith  of  the  child  because  he  can  not  appre- 
ciate the  evidences  of  the  divine  origin  of  the  Gospel.  Sal- 
vation is  in  the  Gospel,  and  not  in  its  evidences.  Life  is 
in  the  air  we  breathe,  and  not  in  any  knowledge  of  its 
causes  and  chemistry. 

While  our  Savior  can  sympathize  with  a  child,  he  can 
sympathize  with  the  great  and  gifted,  who,  by  the  very 
pre-eminence  of  their  gifts,  are  removed  from  the  sympa- 
thies of  ordinary  minds. 

When  Satan  showed  Napoleon  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  and  their  glory — seas  whitened  with  the  sails  of  com- 
merce— beautiful  cities — splendid  temples — waving  fields 
— vast  armies,  marshaled  for  battle,  swords  and  bayonets 
flashing  in  the  light — and  said:  "All  these  will  I  give  thee 


JOHN  SHACKELFORD. 


395 


if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me,"  in  that  hour  of 
ioubt,  and  temptation,  and  conflift,  between  conscience 
ind  ambition,  the  great  soldier  might  have  triumphed  if 
fie  had  sought  him  who,  in  "that  he  has  suffered,  being 
tempted,  is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted."  With 
the  guidance  and  strength  of  Christ,  he  might  have  been 
a  minister  of  righteousness;  without  Christ,  he  was  a  min- 
ister of  darkness,  and  offered  a  bloody  sacrifice  to  the  king 
of  hell. 

Christ  was  the  Savior  of  Martin  Luther.  The  reformer 
had  the  passion  and  power  which  belong  to  all  kingly  souls; 
but  in  the  fierce  tempests  that  swept  over  his  spirit,  he 
sought  a  throne  of  grace,  and  found  "mercy  and  grace 
to  help  in  time  of  need."  So,  too,  with  a  grander  still, 
Paul  the  apostle.  He  was  crucified  with  Christ,  and  the 
life  which  he  lived  in  the  flesh  he  lived  by  the  faith  of  the 
Son  of  God.  So,  too,  with  our  dear  friend  who  sleeps  at 
Bethany.  Jesus  was  his  friend  and  deliverer.  Alexan- 
der Campbell  was  saved  from  ambition's  crime  by  the 
grace  of  Christ. 

Let  men,  then,  strong,  brave,  self-willed,  tempted  men, 
know  that  they  can. have  the  sympathy  and  guidance  of  a 
nature  greater  than  their  own,  who  suffered  their  tempta- 
tions, and  is  able  to  succor  them  in  their  peril.  God  gives 
men  great  minds  and  passions,  not  to  ruin  them,  not  for 
the  service  of  Satan,  but  that  they  may  strike  heroic  blows 
for  him  and  his  truth;  that  they  may  stand  in  the  breach, 
and,  when  men  tremble  with  fear,  bear  their  testimony  for 
righteousness,  and  smite  to  the  earth  iniquity  and  oppres- 
sion. Christ  has  need  of  great  souls,  and  has  left  his  prom- 
ises for  them,  as  well  as  for  us.  He  is  the  friend  and  de- 
liverer of  men,  as  well  as  children — of  the  mighty,  as  well 
as  the  feeble.    Christianity  robs  a  man  of  no  strength,  but 


396  THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


consecrates  it  all  to  the  great  battle  of  the  Lord  against 
the  powers  of  darkness. 

Christ  can  sympathize  with  women  in  their  trials  and 
temptations.  When  here  on  earth,  the  tempted,  weary, 
heavy-laden,  found  in  him  a  gentle  friend  and  a  wise  coun- 
selor. He  had  that  wonderful  dignity  which  amazed  men, 
and  sometimes  silenced  all  questionings;  which  prompted 
Simon  Peter,  like  a  child,  to  beckon  John  to  ask  him  a 
question.  But  he  had  that  quick  sympathy  which  drew 
to  him  all  sorrowing  and  broken  hearts.  When  Lazarus 
was  dying,  Mary  and  Martha  longed  for  the  presence  of 
their  friend  Jesus ;  and  when  he  came,  (O,  blessed  history!) 
he  wept  with  them  at  the  grave  of  their  brother  and  his 
friend.  He  was  deeply  moved,  not  at  the  death  of  Laz- 
arus, but  in  sympathy  with  the  sisters.  How  gentle  he 
was  with  the  sinful  woman.  Remember,  all  ye  frail  and 
erring,  Christ  is  your  only  hope  and  salvation. 

1  once  baptized  a  repentant  wanderer,  a  child  who  had 
been  betrayed  and  led  into  a  dark  and  polluted  life.  She 
was  baptized  for  the  remission  of  her  sins,  holding,  in  a  sim- 
ple faith,  that  she  had  God's  pledge  and  covenant  of'pardon. 
As  she  came  out  of  the  water,  she  exclaimed :  "  Bless  God 
for  this  hour!  "  And  now  how  can  she  triumph,  how  can 
she  leave  that  dark,  sinful  life  behind,  and  reach  the  light 
and  peace  of  heaven  ?  Blessed  be  God,  through  Christ, 
who  has  granted  her  mercy,  and  will  give  her  grace  to  help 
in  time  of  need. 

The  struggle  of  the  drunkard  with  his  appetite  seems, 
sometimes,  almost  hopeless.  Worn  out  with  his  debauch, 
mortified,  humbled  in  spirit,  he  resolves  to  abandon  his 
evil  habit.  But  when  nature  recuperates,  and  his  mortifica- 
tion is  past,  in  an  evil  hour  he  looks  upon  the  wine  when 
it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  its  color  in  the  cup,  and,  tempted 


JOHN  SHACKELFORD. 


397 


by  some  siren  voice,  he  falls.  His  history  is  a  repetition 
of  broken  resolutions.  Christ  is  his  only  hope.  If  he 
can  learn  to  rely  in  simple  faith  on  him,  he  will  conquer. 
The  reason  why  so  many  professed  Christians,  and  some- 
times even  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  fall  into  intemperance, 
is  that,  in  their  weakness,  they  do  not  seek  Him  who  is  able 
to  save  to  the  uttermost.  Our  Christian  life  is  enfeebled 
by  our  hesitating  confidence  in  the  great  and  wonderful 
piomises  of  our  God.  He  knows  all  our  sorrows.  When 
dying,  he  had  words  of  comfort  for  his  mother.  Ah,  dear 
woman !  who  can  tell  her  agony  on  that  dark  day,  as  she 
beheld  her  child,  the  purest  and  noblest  of  earth,  scourged, 
tormented,  insulted,  crucified,  as  a  malefadlor,  between  two 
thieves?  How  fully  she  realized  the  prophecy  of  old  Sim- 
eon, spoken  when  she  came  to  the  temple  with  her  two  tur- 
tle-doves, to  offer  sacrifice,  according  to  the  law,  and  to 
present  her  child  to  the  Lord.  And  Simeon  said  to  Mary: 
"Behold,  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of 
many  in  Israel ;  and  for  a  sign  that  shall  be  spoken  against ; 
(yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thine  own  soul  also)." 

The  dying  Savior  entered  into  all  the  anguish  of  that 
crushed  heart,  that  gave  him  the  love  of  a  mother,  and  the 
reverence  of  a  worshiper. 

Mother,  in  your  great  trial,  when  watching  your  dying 
child,  and  afterward,  when  you  have  laid  the  sleeping  body 
away,  and  return  with  a  broken  heart  to  a  desolate  home, 
remember  you  have  a  great  friend  in  the  heavens,  who  is 
touched  with  your  sorrow,  and  who  will  give  you  mercy 
and  strength.  And  in  the  article  of  death,  when  all  the 
living  fail  us,  each  of  us  can  look  for  sympathy  and  support 
to  him  who  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again,  and,  like  Stephen, 
cry,  "Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit." 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  breathes  hope  and  consola- 


398 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


tion  to  the  weary  and  the  tempted.  It  rises,  too,  to  the 
height  of  a  great  argument  for  the  divine  origin  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  discloses  the  wonderful  perfedion  of  our  re- 
ligion. There  is,  in  the  infinite  power,  purity,  and  sym- 
pathy of  Christ,  that  which  satisfies  our  weary  human  hearts, 
as  the  sunlight  delights  and  satisfies  the  eye.  The  Bible 
is  a  self-illuminated  book.  The  light  of  infinite  love 
gleams  from  its  pages.  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of 
God.  Christ  reveals  the  mercy  and  compassion  of  the 
Father  of  all.  It  is  not  more  true  that  there  is  one  God 
than  that  there  is  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men, 
the  man  Christ  Jesus. 

Seeing,  then,  that  we  have -a  great  High  Priest,  that  is 
passed  into  the  heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  let  us  hold 
fast  our  profession. 


JAMES  S.  LAMAR. 


'T'HE  subjeft  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Gwinnett  County,  Georgia, 
May  1 8,  1829.  He  was  soon  after  removed  to  Muscogee  County, 
(then  newly  settled,)  where  he  was  brought  up  amid  the  surroundings 
and  under  the  educational  disadvantages  peculiar  to  a  new  country.  He 
acquired,  however,  an  early  fondness  for  learning,  and  managed,  at  the 
age  of  seventeen,  to  enter  an  academy,  where  was  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  good  education.  In  1850,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  city  of 
Columbus,  but,  being  providentially  introduced,  about  that  time,  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  primitive  Gospel,  and  baptized,  upon  a  profession  of 
his  faith,  by  an  enlightened  Baptist  preacher,  who  did  not  require  him 
to  go  before  the  Church,  or  to  narrate  an  experience,  and  who  consid- 
ered the  example  of  Philip  and  the  eunuch  as  a  sufEcient  authority,  he 
was  so  deeply  impressed  by  the  simplicity  and  beauty,  and,  above  all, 
the  importance  of  the  primitive  Gospel,  that  he  was  earnestly  desirous  of 
devoting  his  life  to  the  ministry.  But  he  was  all  alone,  having  no  Church, 
no  fellowship,  no  Christian  sympathy  in  his  community.  Besides,  he  was 
not  willing  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  preaching  without  a  finished 
education,  and  a  regular  appointment  to  the  work.  But  all  these  obstacles 
were  happily  removed.  By  the  kindness  of  friends,  he  was  enabled  to 
enter  Bethany  College,  in  January,  1853,  where  he  was  graduated  in  July, 
1854,  ^"'^  ordained,  about  the  same  time,  in  the  Bethany  Church,  as  an 
Evangelist.  Soon  afterward  he  was  called  to  the  church  in  Augusta,  where, 
with  one  brief  intermission,  he  has  been  ever  since. 

In  1859,  published  a  work  entitled  "The  Organon  of  Scripture;  or, 
the  Induftive  Method  of  Biblical  Interpretation."  This  work  is  written 
in  an  easy  and  graceful  style,  and  is  a  very  creditable  produftion  for  one 
so  young  to  write.  If,  however,  he  had  spent  several  more  years  in  per- 
fefting  it,  the  work  would,  doubtless,  have  been  of  much  greater  value. 
As  it  is,  it  is  worthy  of  careful  study,  and  certainly  encourages  us  to  ho^e 
that  the  author  will  not  let  his  pen  remain  idle. 

Brother  Lamar  has  a  beautiful  mind.     He  is  incapable  of  any  thing 

(399) 


400 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


uncouth  or  vulgar.  His  thoughts  f.re  chaste  and  fresh,  and  always  ex- 
pressed in  a  polished,  forcible  style.  He  is  a  hard  student,  but  reads  a 
very  seleft  library.  He  seeks  for  perfeftion  in  every  thing,  and,  conse- 
quently, his  literary  labors  are  always  carefully  performed. 

As  a  speaker,  he  is  clear,  pointed,  earnest,  and  impressive.  He  is  very 
choice  in  his  seleftion  of  words,  and  generally  says  the  right  thing  in  the 
right  way.  He  has  scarcely  enough  passion  for  an  orator,  and  his  voice, 
though  well  modulated,  and  perfeftly  under  his  control,  has  not  sufficient 
volume  for  fine  efFedl.  His  gesticulation  is  graceful,  and  his  manner  pleas- 
ing, but  his  preaching  is  better  adapted  to  a  seleft  audience  than  the  masses. 
He  is  an  excellent  pastor,  but  does  not  succeed  so  well  as  an  Evangelist, 


THE  HISTORY  OF  REDEMPTION  REPRO- 
DUCED IN  THE  REDEEMED 


BY  J.  S.  LAMAR. 


*'  How  shall  we,  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein  ?  Know 
ye  not  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ,  were  bap- 
tized into  his  death  ?  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into 
death  ;  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of 
the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.  For  if  we 
have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also 
in  the  likeness  of  his  resurreftion  :  knowing  this,  that  our  old  man  is  cruci- 
fied with  him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  that  henceforth 
we  should  not  serve  sin.  For  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin." — Rom. 
vi :  2-7. 

THE  leading  do6lrine  taught  in  this  Scripture,  and 
which  it  shall  be  my  objeft,  in  the  present  discourse, 
to  prove  and  illustrate,  may  be  summed  up  in  a  single 
proposition,  namely :  'That  what  the  Lord  did  and  suffered 
in  order  to  enter  into  his  glory ^  must,  in  some  sense,  be  done  and 
suffered  by  every  one  who  is  to  participate  in  that  glory. 

Before  entering  upon  the  argument  and  elucidation  of 
this  proposition,  it  may  be  well  to  remark  that  it  embraces 
the  whole  of  duty  and  salvation.  There  is  nothing  for 
us  to  do  or  bear  that  is  not  exemplified  in  the  history  of 
our  Great  Captain  and  Leader.  At  the  same  time,  it  is 
important  to  remember  that,  in  seeking  to  follow  his  ex- 
26  (401) 


402  THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


ample,  we  are  not  to  commence  with  his  birth,  or  baptism, 
or  temptation,  or  any  of  the  labors  of  his  adlive  life.  All 
these  we  pass  by,  and  begin  with  the  last  scenes  first.  And 
it  is  not  until  after  we  have  followed  him  through  all  these, 
and  been  made  thus  the  sons  of  God ;  not  until  we  can 
say,  "  Christ  liveth  in  us,"  that  we  can  begin  to  live  the 
life  of  Christ,  or  hope  to  imitate  the  example  of  that  life. 
Hence  the  Scripture  from  which  we  shall  draw  our  dis- 
course, points  us  to  the  last  events  of  his  earthly  career 
as  the  first  for  our  imitation,  thus  teaching  us  that  if  we 
would  be  "glorified  together  "  with  him,  we  must,  first  of 
all,  re-ena£l  the  history  out  of  which  his  glory  sprung.  A  part 
of  this  history  is  implied,  and  a  part  is  expressed,  in  the 
text.  Let  us  refer  to  it  in  its  regular  order,  and  make 
the  application  as  we  proceed. 

It  was  just  after  Judas  had  gone  out  to  betray  him,  that 
he  exclaimed,  with  triumphant  exultation  :  "  Now  is  the 
Son  of  Man  glorified  ;"  by  which  he  doubtless  meant  that 
he  was  now  about  to  enter  upon  those  sufferings  for  which 
he  was  to  be  crowned  with  glory  and  honor.  But  so 
completely  was  his  heart  enraptured  by  the  blessedness 
beyond,  that  he  overlooked  or  disregarded  the  interven- 
ing sorrows  of  the  Garden,  the  pains  of  Calvary,  and  the 
darkness  of  the  tomb.  And  yet  it  was  out  of  these  the 
glory  was  to  arise,  and  for  these  the  crown  was  to  be  con- 
ferred. And  is  it  not  true  of  every  man,  that,  when 
heaven  is,  first  of  all,  appreciated,  and  its  holiness  per- 
ceived to  be  the  chief  good ;  and  when  the  freeness  and 
fullness  of  Gospel  promises  give  assurance  that  all  may 
be  his,  he  forgets  the  crucifixion  and  burial,  which  must 
necessarily  antedate  his  resurredion  to  life  and  bliss,  and 
learns,  not  till  afterward,  that  no  man  can  reach  the  Crown 
without  first  coming  to  the  Cross ;  and  that  no  man  will 


J.  S.  LAMAR. 


403 


come  to  the  Cross  who  has  not  first  passed  through  the 
Garden  ? 

It  is  the  teaching  of  revelation,  confirmed  by  every 
Christian's  experience,  that  he  who  comes  to  Christ  has 
previously  felt  "weary  and  heavy-laden  ;"  has  realized  the 
agony  of  sin  ;  his  soul  has  been  made  exceeding  sorrow- 
ful— the  "godly  sorrow  for  sin  which  worketh  repent- 
ance," And  how  often  has  such  a  man  retired  into  the 
darkness,  to  struggle  with  his  burden,  and  to  pray  all 
alone ;  and  so,  "  pierced  to  the  heart,"  weeping,  and  in 
anguish,  and,  doubtless,  strengthened  in  his  weakness  by 
some  messenger  of  God,  he  comes  at  last  to  say,  nay  to 
desire,  "Thy  will,  O  God,  be  done?"  Thus  he  "learns 
obedience  by  the  things  which  he  suffers."  He  realizes 
the  necessity  for  it.  His  own  misery  teaches  him  the  con- 
sequences of  sin,  and  he  determines  henceforth  to  obey; 
and  from  his  heart  he  cries,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do?"  It  is  then,  in  the  hour  of  darkness,  and  tears, 
and  agony,  that  he  gives  the  first  solemn  pledge  to  God, 
to  be,  to  do,  and  to  suffer  all  that  he  wills. 

When  such  a  man  hears  the  command,  "  Follow  the 
Lord  Jesus,"  he  will  not  be  careful  to  analyze  it  into 
its  external  and  internal  elements,  nor  to  test  it  by  some 
alchemy  of  human  philosophy,  to  see  whether  it  be  essen- 
tial or  non-essential ;  enough  for  him  that  it  is  the  voice 
of  God.  Hence,  he  goes  boldly  forward.  It  may  be  in 
the  presence  of  scoffers  and  infidels  ;  he  cares  not.  He 
has  a  settled  purpose  that  he  will  identify  himself  with 
Jesus  Christ,  and  confess  with  his  mouth  the  confidence 
he  has  in  him  ;  and  he  does  it,  rejoicing  that  he  is  per- 
mitted, even  in  this,  to  imitate  him  "who,  before  Pontius 
Pilate,  witnessed  a  good  confession." 

But  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that,  though  this  is  "the 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


good  confession,"  and  though  "  with  the  mouth  confession 
is  made  unto  salvation,"  it  can  only  result  in  this  blessing 
when  the  subsequent  condud  is  consistent  with  it.  If  we 
pause  with  the  bare  profession  with  the  mouth,  it  is  but  lip 
service ;  and  hence,  while  the  Savior  has  graciously  prom- 
ised to  confess  those  before  his  Father  who  confess  him 
before  men,  he  does  not  fail  to  warn  us  that  many  call 
him  Lord  who  do  not  obey  him  as  Lord;  by  which  he  would 
teach  us  that  the  confession  which  secures  salvation  is  one 
which  ultimates  in  obedience.  All  would  be  willing  to  be 
Christians  in  name,  doubtless,  if  they  might  be  allowed 
to  live  on  in  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  and  the  pride  of  life; 
but  the  plain  intimation  of  the  text,  and  which  perfedlly 
accords  with  the  example  of  the  Savior,  is,  that  this  con- 
fession necessitates  death;  and  just  here  is,  for  most  men, 
*'  the  stone  of  stumbling  and  rock  of  offense."  They  are 
willing  to  pronounce  eloquent,  and,  it  may  be,  heartfelt 
panegyrics  upon  the  Cross  of  Christ.  They  can  speak  in 
melting  tones  of  Calvary,  and  point  to  the  "  marred  vis- 
age "  of  the  Crucified  with  evident  emotion.  They  can 
tell  us,  too,  in  well-seledted  phrase,  of  the  infinite  merits 
of  that  atoning  sacrifice,  sufficient  to  take  away  the  sins 
of  the  whole  world  ;  but  they  are  slow  to  learn  that,  as  a 
matter  of  fa6t,  it  really  does  take  away  the  sins  of  those 
only — not  who  admire  him — but  who  are  "  crucified  with 
him." 

"  Take  up  thy  cross,"  says  the  Savior,  "  and  follow  me." 
How  prone  we  are  to  explain  away  this  "  cross,"  by  mak- 
ing it  no  more  than  some  public  confession,  some  speak- 
ing or  praying  before  men,  or  the  performance  of  some 
other  duty  that  is  simply  disagreeable,  as  though  it  were 
the  symbol  of  mere  embarrassment,  or  as  though  Chris- 
tianity held  modesty  as  sin,  and  self-distrust  at  discount. 


J.  S.  LAMAR. 


405 


No;  the  word  means  death^  as  is  explained  by  the  passage, 
which  says  :  "  Whosoever  will  save  his  life,  shall  lose  it ; 
and  whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it," 
And  certainly  this  means  that  only  he  who  loses  his  life 
shall  find  it;  or  that  the  old  life  must  be  destroyed  before 
the  new  can  be  superinduced. 

A  point  so  important  and  so  pradical  deserves  a  fuller 
illustration.  Let  me  quote,  then,  some  passages  from  the 
epistles,  which  will  settle  the  matter,  as  I  think,  beyond 
question  :  "Our  old  man  is  crucified  with  him,  that  hence- 
forth we  should  not  serve  sin  ;  for  he  that  is  dead  is  freed 
from  sin."  But  suppose  he  is  not  dead  !  "  If  Christ  be 
in  you,  the  body  is  dead  because  of  sin."  "  I  am  crucified 
with  Christ;  nevertheless  I  live;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me." 

How  this  illustrates  the  words  of  the  Savior  !  The 
Apostle  took  his  cross,  was  crucified,  "  lost  his  life,"  and, 
according  to  the  promise,  "  found  it."  But  he  does  not 
hold  his  case  as  peculiar,  for  he  says  :  "  They  that  are 
Christ's" — i.  e.,  all  that  are  Christ's — *'  have  crucified  the 
flesh  with  the  passions  and  lusts."  Certainly,  then,  they 
that  have  not  done  so  are  not  Christ's.  It  is,  therefore, 
"a  faithful  saying;  for,  if  we  be  dead  with  him,  we  shall  also 
live  with  him/' 

I  presume,  of  course,  that  no  one  will  understand  these 
Scriptures  to  refer  to  a  stridly  literal  "  death  "  and  "cru- 
cifixion." But  let  us  beware.  Because  they  are  not  lit- 
eral, it  does  not  follow  that  they  are  not  real.  We  have 
no  right  to  set  aside  the  included,  veritable  truth,  because 
it  happens  to  be  presented  enveloped  in  a  figurative  ex- 
pression. Hence,  it  is  certain  that  "he  that  lives  in  pleas- 
ure ;"  he  that  is  alive  to  the  world,  to  the  lusts  of  his  flesh, 
to  his  carnal  -passions,  can  not  be  said  to  be  dead  or  cruet- 


4o6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


fied  with  Christ,  or  to  have  "  put  off  the  old  man  with  his 
deeds." 

But  even  this  ''crucifixion" — this  "death  to  sin" — to 
the  flesh,  and  to  the  world,  is  not  all.  That  would,  in- 
deed, be  a  very  inadequate  exhibition  of  Christianity  which 
should  leave  us  with  a  dead  Savior^  and  ourselves  merelv 
as  dead  to  sin,  but  not  alive  unto  God.  We  can  not  pause 
with  the  crucifixion,  therefore,  without  losing  the  very 
blessing  for  which  it  was  endured.  It  is  a  part  of  the 
Gospel  of  salv^ation,  not  only  that  "he  died  for  our  sins," 
but  that  "  he  was  buried."  In  this,  too,  as  in  all  things, 
it  is  our  exalted  privilege  to  follow  him,  to  be  buried 
with  himT  But  what  can  this  mean  ?  How  are  we  buried 
with  him  r  On  this  question,  there  might  have  been  room 
for  doubt  and  perplexity,  if  the  Scriptures  had  not  been 
so  explicit  in  furnishing  a  solution.  As  the  death  to  sin 
is  not  stridly  a  literal  death,  it  might  have  been  thought — 
if  we  had  been  left  to  our  own  reasonings — that  the  "bu- 
rial "  is  not  a  literal  burial,  but,  may  be,  some  monkish 
retirement  from  the  world,  a  "burial"  in  the  caves  or  dens 
of  the  earth  ;  or  that,  possibly,  it  has  some  "  spiritual," 
and,  of  course,  indefinite  sense,  such  as  fanaticism  has 
diftated  for  so  many  other  requirements  of  the  Scriptures. 
Happily,  however,  we  are  not  left  in  doubt.  -  A  word  is 
added  which  relieves  the  matter  of  all  uncertainty,  and  for- 
bids us  giving  any  other  explanation  :  "  We  are  buried  with 
him  by  baptism^  This  is,  then,  the  only  way  in  which  we 
can  be  buried  with  him,  and  any  explanation  which  leaves 
out  this  adl  of  burial,  is  sheer  infidelity.  God  has  spoken 
in  the  premises:  let  all  the  earth  keep  silent  before  him. 

Another  question,  however,  may  arise  here,  and  that  is: 
The  meaning  being  settled,  is  it  necessary  that  we  should 
be  thus  buried  with  him?    To  which  we  simply  respond: 


I.  S.  LAMAR. 


407 


The  new  life  t  merges  from  the  tomb  I  The  Savior  did  not 
rise  from  the  cross ^  but  from  the  gravel  These  are  fads 
which  no  logic  can  ratiocinate  out  of  existence.  They  con- 
stitute a  living  demonstration  that  Christianity  contem- 
plates not  simply  life  from  the  dead,  but  life  from  the 
tomb;  and,  at  the  same  time,  they  confirm  the  assurance 
that  those  who  have  been  crucified  and  buried  with  him, 
shall  rise  from  their  burial,  to  walk  in  newness  of  life  with 
him. 

Again,  let  us  see  what  the  Scriptures  say  upon  the  sub- 
jeft:  "-^  Therefore,  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into 
death;  that,  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by 
the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in 
newness  of  life."  If,  now,  the  question  be,  why  the  burial, 
the  answer  is  given,  ''^therefore  we  are  buried"- — for  this 
very  reason — with  this  identical  objedt  in  view — that  we 
may  walk  in  newness  of  life.  The  one  is  the  natural  an- 
tecedent of  the  other;  nay,  the  one  is  clearly  conditional  of 
the  other.  Once  more:  "Buried  with  him  by  baptism, 
wherein  also  ye  are-risen  with  him."  The  apostle  imme- 
diately proceeds  to  address  these  parties  as  those  that  are 
"risen  with  Christ,"  and  tells  them,  "ye  have  put  oflF  the 
old  man  with  his  deeds,  and  have  put  on  the  new  man." 
As  much  as  to  say  (what,  indeed,  he  did  say  in  other  places), 
"As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have 
put  on  Christ ; "  and,  "  if  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new 
creature."  With  what  clearness  and  force  do  these  pas- 
sages illustrate  and  confirm  the  do6lrine  of  the  text,  viz., 
that  "our  old  man  is  crucified" — "dead  with  Christ" — 
"dead  unto  sin;"  that,  as  such,  it  is  "buried  with  him 
by  baptism  " — "  planted  in  the  likeness  of  his  death ; "  and 
that  from  this  baptismal  burial  we  are  "raised  up"  to 
"walk  in  newness  of  life;"  the  "old  man,"  still  "dead. 


4o8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


indeed,  unto  sin,"  but  the  "new  man"  evermore  "alive 
unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  And  hence 
the  appositeness  of  the  conclusion,  "  yield  yourselves  unto 
God  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the  dead.'' 

We  have  now  followed  the  Great  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion through  death,  and  burial,  and  resurredion — coming, 
thus,  into  the  enjoyment  and  manifestation  of  a  new  and 
spiritual  life.  "I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ,  liveth  in 
me;  and  the  life  which  I  now  live,  I  live  by  the  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God."  "If  Christ  be  in  us,  the  body  is 
dead  because  of  sin,  but  the  spirit  is  life,  because  of  right- 
eousness." If  we,  then,  be  risen  with  Christ,  if  he  is  our 
life,  while  our  old  dead  body  may  remain  upon  the  earth, 
the  spirit,  the  heart,  the  affedtions,  must  ascend  with  him. 
In  this  sense,  "we  have  come  to  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfedl,  and  to  God,  the  Judge  of  all."  "Our 
citizenship  is  in  heaven;"  we  are  no  longer  of  the  world; 
our  heart,  and  life,  and  home,  and  treasures  are  all  above, 
laid  up  secure,  beyond  the  reach  of  corruption  or  danger. 

And,  finally,  we  are  glorified  with  him.  This  is  the  ter- 
minus ad  quern  of  all  the  past.  Yes,  we  are  glorified,  though 
still  encompassed  with  infirmity,  and  walking  through  great 
tribulation,  subjedls  of  toil,  and  sorrow,  and  pain,  and 
tears;  for  "whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified."  In 
one  sense,  certainly,  this  glory  is  still  future.  And  in  this 
view,  we  joyfully  "suffer  with  him  that  we  may  be  also  glo- 
rified together."  We  are,  in  this  resped,  like  the  Savior 
in  his  humiliation — our  glory  is  not  manifested.  We  are  liv- 
ing his  divine  life,  we  partake  of  his  divine  nature,  we  are 
filled  with  his  divine  Spirit;  but  "the  world  knoweth  us 
not,  even  as  it  knew  him  not."  It  is  "the  manifestation 
of  the  sons  of  God,"  for  which  the  "earnest  expedation 


J.  S.  LAMAR. 


409 


of  the  creature  waiteth;  "  and  this  is  not  the  impartation  of 
glory,  but  the  revelation  of  the  glory  that  is  in  us,"  Con- 
sequently, the  Christian,  having  reproduced  the  great  faSIs 
of  redemption  in  his  conversion  to  Christ,  is  now  remanded 
to  the  example  of  Christ's  life  upon  the  earth,  to  reproduce 
that,  in  order  to  his  final  glorification.  In  other  words, 
being  made  a  son  of  God,  he  is  now  to  lead  the  life  of  the 
Son  of  God  upon  the  earth. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  is  not,  as  in  the  former  case, 
to  be  done  \x\  particulars,  but  in  generals.  Ours  is  to  be, 
like  his,  a  life  of  love  and  mercy;  of  gentleness  and  for- 
giveness; of  prayer  and  humility:  of  labor  for  the  good 
of  others;  and,  in  one  word,  of  self-sacrifice  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  world.  Such  a  life  will  be  continually  blessed 
by  the  presence  and  grace  of  God;  and,  in  closing  such  a 
career,  we  shall,  like  our  glorious  leader,  simply  "lay 
down"  the  divine  "life"  which  is  in  us,  to  be  taken  again. 
We  shall,  of  course,  go  with  him  once  more  to  the  tomb, 
but  we  can  now  look  forward  to  that  broken  prison  without 
a  fear,  knowing  that  "if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up 
Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  us,  he  that  raised  up  Christ 
from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken  our  mortal  bodies  by  his 
Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us."  And  after  this — beyond  the 
resurrection — "it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be, 
but  we  know  that  we  shall  be  like  him;  "  "we  shall  be  glor- 
ified together" — "manifested"  to  the  universe  as  the  "sons 
of  God ;  "  and  if  sons,  then  heirs,  "  heirs  of  God  and  joint 
heirs  with  Christ." 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  wonderful  scheme  of  salvation.  It 
is  simply  being  with  Christ,  from  first  to  last,  from  the 
darkness  to  the  glory.  But  OI  it  must  needs  be,  if  we 
are  with  him,  that  he  also  is  with  us;  with  us  in  our  exceed- 
ing sorrow  for  sin;  with  us*  in  the  good  confession;  the 


410 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


shame  and  derision;  the  crucifixion  and  burial;  with  us, 
aye,  in  us,  in  the  resurredlion ;  and  with  us  and  in  us  ever- 
more, in  all  our  toils,  and  temptations,  and -sufferings,  and 
tears.  Yea,  though  we  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  we  will  fear  no  evil,  for  still  he  is  with 
us.  And  beyond  the  grave,  in  the  glorious  world  of  im- 
mortal life,  where  the  Savior  reigns  the  exalted  Lord  and 
Christ,  the  prayer  which  he  breathed  in  the  days  of  his 
humiliation  is  still  heard  and  answered:  "Father,  I  will 
that  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with  me  where 
I  amr  O,  blessed  consummation!  This  is  the  fruition 
of  all  hope,  the  reward  of  all  labor,  the  satisfadtion  of  all 
desire,  the  very  fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ — "  Ever  with  the  Lord  1" 


DAVID  WALK. 


DAVID  WALK  was  born,  December  9,  1833,  in  Reading,  a  subur- 
ban village  of  Cincinnati.  In  early  life  he  united  with  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  and,  in  his  nineteenth  year,  was  licensed  by  that 
body  to  preach,  and  entered  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  continued 
his  ministerial  labors  in  the  Methodist  Church  for  nearly  nine  years,  but, 
having  read  and  reflected  much  on  his  church  relations,  and  being  convinced 
that  his  religious  position  was  not  in  harmony  with  the  Word  of  God,  he 
resigned  his  pastoral  charge,  withdrew  from  the  Methodist  Church,  and 
was  immersed — all  the  same  day — in  Cincinnati,  January  3,  1862,  by  Ben- 
jamin Franklin.  He  claims  to  be  more  indebted  to  Brother  Franklin 
for  his  present  position  than  to  any  other  man,  and  remembers,  with  the 
liveliest  gratitude,  the  many  expressions  of  kindness  received  from  him. 

Soon  after  his  immersion.  Brother  Walk  began  to  labor  in  the  general 
field,  and  spent  about  three  years  traveling  and  preaching  in  some  dozen 
States,  reaching  from  Central  Pennsylvania  to  beyond  the  Mississippi  River; 
and,  as  an  evidence  of  the  amount  of  work  done  by  him  while  thus  engaged, 
it  may  be  stated  that  he  traveled,  in  one  year,  seven  thousand  miles,  and 
preached  three  hundred  and  ninety-five  sermons,  besides  the  other  labors 
that  naturally  devolve  on  an  evangelist.  During  the  three  years  spent  in 
this  way,  he  was  instrumental  in  doing  great  good  in  many  places :  the 
weak  churches  were  strengthened,  while  a  considerable  number  of  sinners 
were  turned  to  the  Lord. 

Since  he  ceased  to  travel  as  an  evangelist,  he  has  been,  and  is  now,  pas- 
tor of  the  Christian  Church  in  Paris,  Kentucky,  where  his  labors  have  been 
greatly  blessed.  He  has  been  there  not  quite  three  years,  and,  during  that 
time,  the  Church  has  more  than  doubled  its  membership,  and  has  become 
oiie  of  the  most  aflive  and  influential  churches  in  Kentucky. 

Brother  Walk  is  full  six  feet  high,  has  perfeft  health,  great  physical 
strength  and  powers  of  endurance,  dark  hair  and  eyes,  and  all  the  features 
of  the  face  are  strongly  marked.  As  a  speaker,  he  is  logical,  pointed,  and 
forcible.    He  states  his  points  well,  and  presents  his  arguments  in  a  clear 

(411) 


412 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


light.  You  can  scarcely  fail  to  understand  him.  He  has  had  three  public 
discussions,  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  been  very  successful. 

Though  not  a  graduate  of  any  college,  his  scholarship  is,  nevertheless, 
quite  respeftable.  His  literary  attainments  are  very  considerable,  and  his 
appreciation  of  the  beautiful  in  composition  both  aftive  and  discriminating. 
He  has  written  some  for  the  periodicals  of  the  brotherhood,  in  which  he 
has  shown  that  he  can  wield  a  ready  and  forcible  pen.  Every  thing  that 
he  says  and  writes  clearly  marks  him  as  an  original,  vigorous  thinker — one 
who  is  not  satisfied  with  a  view  of  the  surface  of  things.  He  is  a  diligent 
student,  and  prepares  his  discourses  with  great  care.  He  never  goes  into 
the  pulpit  without  first  having  well  matured  the  subjeft  upon  which  he  is 
to  speak. 

While  he  has  been  a  successful  evangelist,  he  has  shown  more  fitness 
for  pastoral  work.  He  takes  special  delight  in  this  kind  of  labor,  and  has 
ceitainly  shown  himself  "a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed." 
As  a  pastor,  his  success  is  largely  owing  to  his  constant  attention  to  the 
wants  of  the  flock.  He  is  industrious  and  vigilant,  and  to  these  necessary 
qualifications  of  a  successful  pastor,  he  adds  good  administrative  talents; 
hence,  if  he  does  not  zvin  the  affeftions  of  the  people  so  readily  as  some 
men  by  heart-power,  he  compels  respeft  by  will-power  and  the  force  of  an 
example  of  devotion  to  his  work. 


DEATH  AND  LIFE. 


BY  DAVID  WALK. 


"  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life,  in  Christ  Jesus,  hath  made  me  free  from 
the  law  of  sin  and  death." — Rom.  viii :  z. 

LAW  and  government  are  necessary  conditions  of 
man's  existence.  Man  is  naturally  a  subjedl  of  law. 
Whether  he  will  or  not,  he  is  compelled  to  yield  to  its 
imperious  behests.  This  is  true,  both  of  his  moral  and 
physical  constitution.  If  man  refuses  to  yield  to  the  law 
of  physical  necessity,  he  will  die  physically;  and,  failing 
to  obey  the  law  of  his  moral  nature,  he  will  die  morally. 
Man,  then,  must  ever  be  viewed  as  the  subjedl  of  law;  for, 
when  God  made  him,  he  placed  him  under  its  dominion. 

As  to  his  physical  nature,  a  constant  supply  of  nutri- 
tious food  is  the  law  of  its  existence;  and,  as  it  respedls 
his  moral  nature,  perfedl  obedience  to  the  will  of  his  Cre- 
ator is  the  law  of  its  existence.  Nor  is  it  legitimate  to 
raise  the  purely  speculative  question  why  it  is  so.  For 
all  practical  purposes,  it  is  sufficient  for  us  to  know  that 
it  is  so.  God,  who  made  man,  ordained  that  it  should  be 
so.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  what  our  condition  would 
have  been  under  any  other  circumstances  than  those  in 
which  it  has  pleased  God  to  place  us.  I  am  here.  I  did 
not  bring  myself  here.     I  am  subjeft  to  law.    I  did  not 

(413) 


414 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


make  the  law.  Be  the  law  good  or  bad,  I  can  not  change 
it.  Crediting  revelation,  I  conclude  that  God  made  me. 
I  am  distindly  conscious  that  I  did  not  make  myself. 
Nay,  I  know  that  I  did  not  make  myself.  But  I  exist ; 
therefore,  I  believe  that  God  caused  me  to  exist.  Now, 
he  who  made  me  chose  that  I  should  be  the  subjed  of 
law;  he  chose  that  I  should  be  amenable  to  the  author- 
ity of  moral  and  physical  government.  At  least,  I  know 
myself  to  be  subjedl  to  such  dual  government.  But  it  is 
no  part  of  my  present  purpose  to  consider  the  question 
of  physical  law,  and  I  must  not,  therefore,  suffer  myself 
to  be  betrayed  into  that  which  is  irrelevant.  Thus  far, 
I  have  referred  to  it  simply  for  the  sake  of  illustration  ; 
simply  to  show  that,  from  the  very  nature  and  constitu- 
tion of  his  being,  man  is  a  subjed:  of  law.  The  range  of 
my  present  discourse,  therefore,  will  not  include  any  ques- 
tion of  physical  law  as  bearing  upon  man's  present  exist- 
ence. But  the  two  laws  of  which  I  propose  to  speak  are, 
first^  The  Law  of  Death  ;  and  secondly,  The  Law  of  Life. 
In  the  text,  these  laws  are  contrasted.  The  one  minis- 
ters death,  the  other  life. 

When  God  made  man,  he  placed  him  under  a  specific 
law.  For  the  violation  of  that  law,  the  penalty  was  death. 
Hence,  it  is  called  the  law  of  death.  The  laws  of  death 
and  life  were  originally  symbolized  by  two  trees  which 
grew  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  The  one  was  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil;  and  this  tree  stands  de- 
cidedly in  the  foreground  of  the  pidure.  Observe,  it  was 
not  the  tree  of  good  and  evil,  but  the  tree  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  good  and  evil.  It  only  remains  to  be  mentioned 
that  the  other  was  the  tree  of  life. 

All  we  know  of  these  two  trees  is,  that  if  a  man  par- 
took of  the  fruit  of  the  one,  he  immediately  became  cog- 


DAVID  WALK. 


iiizant  of  the  quality  of  moral  adlions  ;  that  is,  he  imme- 
diately became  conscious  of  a  difference  in  moral  adtions. 
He  at  once  perceived  that  some  actions  are  good,  and 
some  bad.  Had  man  not  eaten  the  fruit  of  this  tree,  he 
would  not  have  known  that  such  difference  existed  ;  there- 
fore, to  him  all  adlions  would  be  alike.  Being  ignorant 
of  this  difference,  he  would  not  have  been,  as  he  other- 
wise became,  obnoxious  to  the  penalty  of  the  law. 

The  extent  of  our  knowledge  concerning  the  other  tree 
is,  that  if  a  man  partook  of  its  fruit,  he  would  live  for- 
ever, independent  of  either  moral  or  physical  consider- 
ations. That  is,  whether  his  moral  nature  were  good  or 
bad,  if  he  ate  the  fruit  of  this  tree,  the  effeft  would  be  to 
render  him  immortal.  The  one  tree,  then,  symbolizes  the 
principle  of  death  ;  the  other,  the  principle  of  life. 

Now,  according  to  the  laws  governing  here,  respedively, 
the  moment  that  man  partook  of  the  fruit  of  either  tree, 
that  moment  he  experienced  the  blessing  or  the  curse  in- 
herent in  that  adl.  If  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  death ;  if  of  the  tree  of  life,  life. 

I  can  not  be  obnoxious  to  the  penalties  of  a  moral  law 
of  whose  existence  I  am  unconscious.  I  will  not,  hence, 
groan  ;  because,  in  such  a  case,  I  will  not  be  burdened 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  penalties  of  a  law  which  I  have 
unconsciously  violated,  and  to  whose  penalties  I  do  not 
know  myself  to  be  obnoxious.  Consequently,  though 
Adam  was  susceptible  of  death,  yet,  as  he  did  not  know 
it,  his  perfeft  happiness  and  tranquillity  would  remain  un- 
impaired. It  was  not  till  this  knowledge  formed  a  part 
of  his  own  experience,  that  he  became  wretched  and  un- 
happy. 

Now,  this  is  precisely  the  condition  of  all  his  descend- 
ants before  they  arrive  at  the  years  of  accountability 


4i6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


They  are  free  from  any  moral  exercises  concerning  tne 
stupendous  interests  of  life  and  death,  for  the  simple  rea- 
son that  they  are  unconscious  of  any  laws  regulating  those 
questions.  True,  all  the  posterity  of  Adam  die ;  but  this 
is  exadly  the  penalty  which  they  have  inherited  in  conse- 
quence of  the  disobedience  of  their  federal  head. 

Death  was  to  Adam  the  remote,  and  not  the  dired:  con- 
sequence of  sin.  .  Had, he  gained  access  to  the  tree  of  life, 
he  would  have  lived  in  spite  of  his  sin.  Sin  could  not,  of 
itself,  kill  the  body.  It  could,  and  did,  poison  the  fount- 
ain ot  spiritual  life,  and  kill  the  moral  nature  of  our  first 
parents;  but  after  this,  it  could  do  no  more.  When,  there- 
fore, I  speak  of  death  as  the  consequence  of  sin,  I  mean 
that  it  is  the  remote,  and  not  the  diredl  consequence.  If 
one  man  could  live  forever  in  a  state  of  sin,  so  could  every 
other  man  under  the  same  circumstances.  It  is  folly,  then, 
to  inquire  rji'hat  kind  of  death  God  meant  Adam  should  die 
in  consequence  of  bis  disobedience^  for  there  was  but  one  death 
that  such  a  cause  could  produce,  namely,  the  death  of  the 
soul.  And,  while  physical  death  is  set  down  as  the  re- 
mote consequence  of  Adam's  sin,  it  by  no  means  follows 
that  all  who  die  physically  are,  by  inheritance,  sinners. 
Adam  became  mortal  onlv  because  God  withheld  from 
him  the  means  of  perpetuating  his  life,  and  not  because  he 
sinned.  This  mortality  we  have  inherited.  An  immortal- 
ity of  physical  existence  was  the  precise  thing  we  lost  in 
our  illustrious  progenitor;  and  an  immortality  of  bliss,  as 
it  respeds  the  whole  man,  is  what  w^e  gain  in  Christ.  The 
certainty  of  physical  death  to  all  his  descendants  is  the 
one  necessary  consequence  of  Adam's  transgression,  and 
that,  too,  independent  of  all  moral  considerations;  and  the 
certainty  of  a  resurredion  from  this  death,  also  independ- 


DAVID  WALK. 


ent  of  all  moral  considerations,  is  the  one  thing  which  we 
gain  in  Christ. 

As  for  the  rest,  Adam  could  sin,  and  we  can  sin;  nor 
can  I  see  any  difference  between  his  condition  and  ours,  as 
it  respe£ts  this  question.  Paul  says,  that  ^'as  in  Adam  all 
die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."  The  fadt 
and  the  promise  are  alike  unlimited  in  their  application. 
Here  is  the  truth  in  few  words:  Independent  of  our  own 
volitions,  and  irrespeftive  of  moral  considerations,  we  die 
because  Adam  died,  and  on  precisely  the  same  terms  we 
shall  all  be  made  alive  in  Christ. 

All  men  shall  gain  through  Christ  that  which  they  lost 
in  Adam.  In  Adam  they  all,  independent  of  their  own  vo- 
litions, lost  life;  and  through  Christ  they  all,  independent 
of  their  own  volitions,  find  the  life  thus  lost.  If  they  lost 
spiritual  life  in  Adam,  they  will  find  it  in  Christ;  and  if 
they  lost  physical  life  in  Adam,  they  will  find  it  in  Christ. 
In  short,  whatever  man  lost  in  Adam,  independent  of  his 
own  volitions,  he  will,  in  like  manner,  find  in  Christ. 

If  you  assume  the  orthodox  hypothesis,  that  we  all  died 
spiritually  in  Adam — that  we  are  sinners  because  Adam 
sinned — then  I  will  assume  the  apostolic  hypothesis,  that 
the  precise  thing  which  we  lost  in  Adam,  we  shall  find  in 
Christ.  If  all  die  spiritually  in  Adam,  all  will  live  spirit- 
ually in  Christ;  and  if  all  die  physically  in  Adam,  all  will 
be  made  alive  physically  through  Christ.  Till  man  sins, 
he  is  just  such  a  being,  morally,  as  Adam  was  before  he 
sinned.  Sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law:  but  where 
there  is  no  law,  there  is  no  transgression,  and  hence,  of 
course,  no  knowledge  of  sin.  Unconscious  infants  are 
not  amenable  to  moral  law;  they  are  not  cognizant  of  its 
existence;  they  can  not  infraft  it;  they  are  not,  therefore, 
obnoxious  to  its  penalties.  But  they  lose  the  animal  life 
27 


4l8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


in  Adam  without  volition  ;  they  find  it  in  Christ  without 
volition:  they  are,  hence,  fully  reinstated  in  all  that  they 
lost. 

We  must  not  be  guilty  of  the  error  of  confounding  ani- 
mal life  with  spiritual  life,  and,  as  a  consequence,  physical 
law  with  spiritual  law.  Man  comes  into  a  state  where  cer- 
tain moral  and  physical  forces  are  in  operation.  The  moral 
he  can  control,  the  physical  he  can  not.  As  a  result  of  these 
uncontrollable  forces,  he  suffers  certain  inconveniences,  and 
finally  death.  But,  for  these  inconveniences  and  death,  am- 
ple and  satisfying  restitution  is  made.  The  child,  grown 
to  the  years  of  what  is  called  moral  accountability,  can 
control  and  shape  his  spiritual  interests.  He  may  make 
the  best  or  worst  of  men.  But,  no  matter  how  virtuous 
or  vicious  he  may  now  be,  he  can  not  control  the  physical 
forces  that  doom  him  to  decay  and  death.  Therefore, 
Paul  observes :  "  Until  the  law  "  (that  is,  until  the  law  was 
written  out  by  Moses)  "sin  was  in  the  world;  but  sin  is 
not  imputed"  (is  not  charged)  "where  there  is  no  law. 
Nevertheless,  death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even 
over  those  who  had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  (in  the 
likeness,  in  the  same  manner  that  Adam  sinned  ;  i.  e.,  by 
violating  a  known  law)  of  Adam's  transgression." 

This  law  was  not  published;  did  not  become  a  part  of 
the  world's  code — or,  rather,  did  not  become  the  code — 
for  twenty-five  hundred  years  after  Adam  sinned  ;  but  all 
this  time  people  continued  to  die  who  had  not  sinned  as 
he  did.  They  found  themselves,  whether  they  knew  the 
reason  why  or  not,  obnoxious  to  the  penalty  of  a  law  that 
had  been  enaded  when  man  was  created — a  law  coeval  with 
his  existence — but  a  law  that  had  not  yet  been  published. 

After  the  long  lapse  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  years, 
God  commissioned  Moses  to  write  out  that  law  in  all  its 


DAVID  WALK. 


419 


details,  that  the  people  themselves  might  be  placed  in  pos- 
session of  THE  REASONS  WHY  they  Were  subje6led  to  suf- 
fering and  death,  and  why  they  were  unable,  in  any  de- 
gree, to  control  the  evil  circumstances  by  which  they  were 
surrounded. 

Now,  after  this  law  was  set  forth  in  all  its  minutiae,  and 
its  binding  force  and  obligations  in  all  the  departments  of 
life  fully  pointed  out,  what  results  followed  ?  Was  their 
condition  improved  ?  Not  at  all.  Why,  then,  was  the 
law  given  ?  What  good  purpose  could  it  subserve.?  To 
these  questions,  I  desire  to  return  a  specific  answer.  It 
is  this  :  In  this  law,  they  had  a  full  development  of  all 
that  was  typified  by  that  tree  whose  fruit  opened  Adam's 
eyes,  and  enabled  him  to  see  the  diflTerence  between  good 
and  evil.  That  was  all.  The  law  showed  them  their  lost 
and  ruined  condition  ;  but  it  was  powerless  to  put  forth 
its  arm  and  save  them.  The  law,  then,  when  published, 
stood  to  the  people  in  precisely  the  same  relation  that  the 
tree,  after  the  transgression,  stood  to  Adam.  It  showed 
them  their  sins,  but  provided  no  remedy.  Or,  in  other 
words,  the  law  did  for  the  people  what  the  eating  of  the 
fruit  did  for  Adam — it  showed  them  the  difference  between 
good  and  evil.  Without  the  law,  entering,  as  it  did,  into  all 
the  ramifications,  and  afFeding,  as  it  did,  all  the  relations 
of  life,  they  could  never  have  known  what  sin  was.  The 
law  itself  was  not  sin,  though  it  is  called  the  law  of  sin. 
It  was  not  death,  though  called  the  law  of  death. 

As  the  tree,  of  whose  fruit  Adam  partook,  is  not  called 
the  tree  of  good  or  evil,  but  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  so  this  law,  while  it  is  neither  sin  nor  death, 
brings  to  our  minds  a  knowledge  of  sin  and  death.  For 
this  reason,  primarily,  the  law  was  given.  But,  in  addi- 
tion to  this  primary  reason,  and  intimately  conneded  with 


420 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


it,  the  aw  had  in  view  an  ulterior  obje<5t.  Without  the 
knowledge  of  sin,  which  it  was  the  primary  objed  of  the 
law  to  impart,  the  ulterior  objed  of  the  law  would  never 
be  gained.  In  brief,  without  being  able  to  see  the  exceed- 
ing sinfulness  of  sin,  without  a  plain  demonstration  of 
our  utter  inability  to  keep  the  law  under  which  we  are 
placed,  we  never  will  accept  the  mediation  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  The  law,  then,  did  not  introduce  sin;  it 
only  discovered  it.  The  law  simply  unveiled  sin,  and 
showed  us  the  putrid  carcass  to  which  we  were  chained, 
without,  by  any  possibility,  being  able  to  extricate  our- 
selves. It  now  proposes,  having  showed  us  our  sins,  to 
take  us  by  the  hand  and  lead  us  to  him  who  has  power  to 
redeem  us  from  their  thralldom. 

A  beam  of  light,  admitted  into  a  room,  shows  us  thou- 
sands of  motes.  But  these  motes  were  not  introduced  by 
the  light ;  they  were  in  the  room  previously,  only  there 
was  not  sufficient  light  to  make  them  manifest.  Thus, 
the  law  showed  man  his  depravity — showed  him  how  all 
flesh  had  corrupted  itself  before  God.  Sin  was  in  the 
world ;  but,  without  the  law,  men  could  not  see  it.  Hence, 
Paul  says  :  "  I  was  alive  without  the  law  once  :  but  when 
the  commandment  came,  sin  revived,  and  I  died." 

Unless  a  man  be  first  killed  by  the  law,  he  will  not  seek 
to  be  made  alive  in  Christ.  The  law,  then,  was  given, 
firsts  to  show  us  our  sins — to  slay  us;  and,  secondly^  to  lead 
us  to  Christ.  "  Therefore,"  says  Paul,  "  the  law  was  our 
pedagogue  to  bring  us  to  Christ."  The  reasoning  of  this 
apostle  enables  us  to  see  still  further  the  pradtical  oper- 
ations of  the  law.  "We  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual." 
It  takes  cognizance  of  the  spiritual  nature;  it  sits  in  judg- 
ment upon  spiritual  adlions  ;  it  appertains  to  the  spirit. 
"  But  I  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin."    I  am  the  slave  of 


DAVID  WALK. 


421 


sin.  The  law  is  so  pure  and  holy  ;  it  points  out  so  many 
tempers,  actions,  afFedions,  as  sinful,  that  I  would  not 
else  have  known  to  be  such,  that  by  it  I  am  bound,  en- 
slaved, and  slain.  "  For  I  know  that  in  me  (that  is,  in 
my  flesh)  dwelleth  no  good  thing."  How  careful  he  is 
to  use  the  limiting  clause,  "  in  my  flesh  !"  Why  did  he 
not  decry  against  the  sins  which  his  soul  had  inherited  from 
Adam  ?  Because  the  assumption  would  have  been  false. 
Sin  is  an  ad ;  and  Paul  knew  that  an  ad  of  the  body,  or 
a  volition  of  the  mind,  could  not  be  transmitted  or  inher- 
ited. Paul  knew  that,  like  Adam,  he  became  a  sinner 
when  he  sinned.  "O  wretched  man  that  I  am!  Who 
shall  deliver  me  from  this  dead  body  ?  I  thank  God  that 
I  shall  be  delivered  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

There  is,  therefore,  now  no  condemnation  to  those  who 
are  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after 
the  Spirit."  Why  is  there  now  no  condemnation  ?  Be- 
cause "  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath 
made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death."  Here  we 
reach  the  second  law — the  law  of  life.  We  talk  about  the 
tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  till  we  forget  that 
there  was  another  tree  in  the  Garden — the  tree  of  life. 
The  first  is  the  prototype  of  the  law ;  the  second,  of  the 
Gospel.  The  law  of  sin  and  death  was  the  development 
of  the  one  ;  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus 
is  the  development  of  the  other.  The  fruit  of  the  one 
kills  ;  the  fruit  of  the  other  gives  life,  and  its  leaves  are 
for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

Let  us  reverently  look  at  this  tree  of  life.  Adam's 
posterity,  as  we  have  seen,  without  any  volition  of  their 
own,  were  subjeded  to  a  law  that  ministered  sin  and  death. 
The  name  of  this  law  is  justice.  But,  that  God  might  be 
just  while  he  justifies,  he  enads  another  law.    The  name 


422 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  this  law  is  mercy.  The  provisions  of  the  former  are 
all  just;  of  the  latter,  all  merciful.  Through  the  latter 
the  righteousness  of  the  former  is  fulfilled  in  those  whom 
else  it  had  slain.  The  law  of  mercy  dishonors  not,  but 
rather  magnifies  the  law  of  justice.  Thus  justice  and 
mercy  hold  the  scales  of  Divine  government  in  equipoise. 

Much  time  has  been  wasted  in  a  mere  logomachy  as  to 
what  God  meant  by  death.  "In  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."  This  confusion  might  be 
avoided,  and  the  exadl  truth  elicited,  by  considering  the 
terms  of  the  law,  and  noting  just  what  was  done  when  it  was 
violated.  In  imagination  we  will  place  ourselves  in  the  Gar- 
den. We  hear  the  law  from  the  lips  of  God,  and  we  will  sup- 
pose that  we  know  the  meaning  of  every  word,  with  a  single 
exception.  That  exception  is  the  word  death.  We  never 
heard  this  word  before,  and  to  us  it  conveys  no  meaning. 
We  understand  the  prohibition,  but  as  to  the  punishment 
threatened — if,  indeed,  we  can  understand  it  as  punishment 
at  all — we  know  nothing.  Upon  this  latter  we  have  the 
serpent's  comment;  but,  in  his  view,  it  is  something  to 
be  coveted  rather  than  shunned.  With  intense  anxiety 
we  wait  the  issue.  Presently  we  see  the  man  take  the  fruit 
and  eat  it.  He  does  the  very  thing  that  God  commanded 
he  should  not  do.  A  clearer  instance  of  disobedience  the 
world  can  not  furnish.  An  issue  was  never  more  fairly 
made.  Let  it  now  be  settled  that  God  meant  what  he  said, 
and  performed  what  he  threatened.  Whatever  he  does, 
then,  in  the  premises,  will  be  his  meaning  of  death.  What, 
now,  does  God  do  ?  Does  he  inflidl  death  upon  Adam  in 
the  common  acceptation  of  the  word?  He  does  not;  for 
Adam  lived  more  than  nine  hundred  years  after  this  day. 
What,  then,  I  again  inquire,  does  God  do?  He  drives  the 
man  from  bis  presence,  and  hides  his  face  from  him.  This, 


DAVID  WALK. 


then,  is  God's  meaning  of  death.  And  this  is  death.  Nay, 
this  is  hell!  A  deep  and  impassable  gulf  has  been  made 
between  God  and  man.  That  gulf  must  be  bridged,  or 
man  is  lost  to  all  eternity.  And  now,  as  God  whispers 
one  word  of  hope  to  his  fallen  child,  he  summons  a  cohort 
of  cherubim  to  guard  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life.  And 
there  those  cherubim  stood  for  four  thousand  years.  And 
for  four  thousand  years  no  mortal  had  access  to  that  tree. 
Not  till  the  weight  of  the  law's  dread  penalty  fell  upon  the 
head  of  the  Beloved  did  those  watchful  spirits  take  their 
flight,  and  leave  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life  open  to  all  the 
world.  Adam  was  driven  forth  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord.  He  bore  in  his  heart  a  deep  sense  of  his  sin,  and 
the  consequent  condemnation.  Now,  when  a  man  hears 
the  law,  understands  the  law,  and  then  knowingly  violates 
it,  he  becomes,  from  that  moment,  obnoxious  to  its  pen- 
alty. In  that  moment  of  sin  he  dies;  dies  just  as  Adam 
died.  But,  unlike  Adam,  no  shining  ranks  of  cherubim 
interpose  between  the  sinner  of  to-day  and  the  tree  of  life. 
Thanks  be  to  God  for  the  unspeakable  gift ! 

I  sum  up,  then,  as  follows:  The  moral  law  of  God, 
under  which  we  are  all  placed,  requires  true  holiness  and 
perfe6l  obedience.  But  man,  in  his  fallen  condition,  can 
not  meet  these  requirements.  What,  then,  is  to  be  done.'' 
At  this  precise  point,  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ 
Jesus  stretches  forth  its  omnipotent  arm.  This  law,  or, 
to  speak  more  stridlly,  the  dispensation  of  which  this  is 
the  law,  presents  a  Sacrifice  who  evaded  not  a  jot  or  point 
of  the  law  that  had  been  dishonored.  He  kept  that  law 
perfeftly,  that  he  might  become  the  Savior  of  man,  who 
could  not  keep  it.  And  as  man  never  would,  in  this 
world,  be  able  to  keep  it,  Christ  made  provision  for  his 
escape  from  its  penalties,  whether  he  came  to  H  im  as  a  be- 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


lieving,  penitent  alien,  or  as  one  of  His  own  erring  children. 
And  now  Christ,  our  righteousness,  through  the  system 
of  pardon,  presents  man  with  a  new  arid  living  way,  through 
the  rent  vail  of  his  flesh.  That  law  killed  our  sacrifice — 
who  suffered  without  help  from  God,  or  angels,  or  men — 
just  as  it  would  have  killed  us  all  but  for  his  mediation. 

Our  gain  and  our  vidlory  consist,  then,  in  this  glorious 
faft:  that  Jesus  Christ,  our  Sacrifice,  although  he  suffered 
the  full  penalty  of  the  law,  finally  triumphed  over  the 
grave.  And  now,  having  risen  from  the  dead,  and  being 
clothed  with  all  authority  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  he  de- 
clares, with  immense  significance:  "I  am  the  way,  the 
TRUTH,  and  the  life.  No  man  cometh  to  the  Father  (from 
whom  he  had,  by  transgression,  been  driven)  except 
through  me."  Let  man,  now,  attempt  to  gain  access  to 
God  through  any  other  medium,  and  the  sharp  edge  of 
flaming  swords,  wielded  by  the  strong  arm  of  warrior  an- 
gels, will  descend  upon  his  head.  Just  as  certain  as  God's 
throne  is  immutable,  that  man  who  refuses  to  submit  to 
the  authority  of  his  Son,  is  lost  forever.  True,  man  has 
naturally  no  more  moral  ability  now  than  formerly.  He 
is,  of  himself,  as  incapable  of  rendering  perfect  obedience 
to  God  now  as  at  any  former  period  of  his  history.  Does 
God,  therefore,  require  less  of  man  now  than  formerly? 
Has  he  relaxed  the  rigor  of  that  law  under  which  he  orig- 
inally placed  him?  Is  God  less  holy,  or  does  he  demand 
less  holiness  now  than  in  ancient  times?  Not  at  all.  To 
all  these  queries  I  respond,  not  at  all.  The  difference — 
the  sole  difference — consists  in  this  faft:  God  has  accepted 
the  obedience  of  Christ,  has  accepted  the  offering  which 
he  made  of  himself,  that  man,  through  the  obedience  of 
faith,  may  be  made  righteous  in  Christ  Jesus. 

The  government  has,  for  the  time  being,  passed  into 


DAVID  WALK. 


the  hands  of  the  Son;  but  while  there  is  a  change  in  gov- 
ernment, there  is  no  change  as  it  respedls  moral  obligations 
to  God;  unless,  indeed,  these  latter  have  been  heightened. 
Because  man  is  absolved  from  the  slavish  observance  of 
the  law  of  commandments  contained  in  ordinances — Christ 
having  taken  them  out  of  the  way,  nailing  them  to  his  cross 
— it  by  no  means  follows  that  he  is  not  now  under  law. 
There  is  a  vast  difference  between  legal  righteousness  and 
the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith.  A  man,  to  be  legally 
righteous,  must  be  absolutely  guiltless  in  thought,  word, 
and  deed :  but  this  no  man  ever  was.  Nor  in  the  mean- 
time, as  has  been  intimated,  has  God  lowered  the  tone  of 
his  moral  law.  This  is  impossible,  for  that  law  is  nothing 
less  than  a  transcript  of  his  own  Divine  perfedlions.  But 
now  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  knew  no  sin,  comes  into 
the  world  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself;  and 
whoever  is  washed  in  his  blood  is,  in  the  sight  of  a  pure 
and  holy  God,  held  to  be  righteous.  Through  the  me- 
diation of  God's  dear  Son,  the  righteousness  of  his  law  is 
FULFILLED  IN  US :  and  this  is  done  only  through  obedience 
to  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus.  This  is  the- 
law  which  absolves,  or  makes  us  free  from,  the  law  of  sin 
and  death;  and  this  is  the  law  under  which  we  are  now 
placed.  It  was  first  proclaimed  by  him  who  alone  had  au- 
thority to  fix  upon  the  terms  of  man's  salvation;  by  him 
who  alone  had  the  right  to  say  what  he  would  accept  of  man 
now,  in  lieu  of  the  perfe'ft  obedience  and  true  holiness  re- 
quired of  him  then.  This  law,  as  it  respedls  the  alien,  is 
set  forth  in  the  following  words:  ^^He  that  believes,  and  is 
immersed,  shall  be  saved;"  that  is,  pardoned.  This,  then,  is 
the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus.  You  will  ob- 
serve that  it  is  not  the  law  alone,  not  the  Spirit  alone,  but 
the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life ;  and  that  only  as  it  is  in  Christ 


4^6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Jesus.  It,  then,  derives  its  sole  efficacy  from  the  blood  of 
Jesus.  But  what  is  the  precise  thing  which  obedience  to 
this  law — for  all  men  can  obey  the  law  of  pardon — does 
for  us.?  Does  it  make  us  adlually,  literally,  free  from  lia- 
bility to  sin,  and  from  spiritual  imperfeftion ;  or  does  it 
simply  free  us  from  all  our  sins  that  are  past,  with  the 
promise  of  grace  to  help  us  in  time  to  come  ?  Do  we  never 
again  sin  after  we  yield  obedience  to  this  law  ?  The  apostle 
does  not  say  so.  What,  then,  under  Christ,  is  our  exad 
moral  status?  I  judge  it  to  be  that  of  holiness  through 
pardon,  and  not  through  perfedl  obedience  to  the  moral 
law  of  God.  Never  in  this  world  will  we  be  free  from  the 
liability  to  sin.  What,  therefore,  do  we  gain?  We  gain 
the  pardon  of  our  sins  through  the  blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  absolution  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death. 
We  no  longer  groan  under  a  law  that  contented  itself  with 
showing  us  our  depravity,  while  it  was  unable  to  save  us 
from  the  curse  of  sin ;  a  law  under  which  we  could  be  nei- 
ther legally  nor  spiritually  hbly ;  for,  on  the  one  hand,  man 
could  not  render  perfect  obedience  to  that  law;  and,  on  the 
other,  Jesus  Christ  had  not  yet  appeared  to  put  away  sin. 
While  the  law  now,  as  then,  shows  us  our  sins — indeed, 
while  it  magnifies  sin — it,  at  the  same  time,  shows  us  how 
we  may  obtain  remission.  But  are  we  made  free  from 
death?  Do  not'men  still  die?  Yes,  men  still  die.  What, 
then,  is  gained  ?  We  are  now  made  free  from  the  law  of 
death.  That  law  promised  only  death.  There  was  no  life 
in  it.  This  law  not  only  denounces  the  judgments  of  God 
against  all  unrighteousness,  but  with  this  denunciation  it 
PROMISES  LIFE  through  the  blood  of  the  new  and  everlast- 
ing covenant.  Consequently,  the  fear  of  death  is  gone.  I 
have  to  die,  but  I  do  not  fear  death.  Why  do  I  not  fear 
death?    Because  the  Savior  has  broken  its  power  and  ex- 


DAVID  WALK. 


427 


traded  its  sting.  We  are  not,  then,  made  free  from  lia- 
bility to  sin ;  nor  are  we  made  free  from  death ;  but  we  arc 
made  free  from  the  law — from  t\it  dominion — of  them  both. 
Let  me  fully  illustrate  my  meaning:  You  murder  a  man, 
and  thereby  violate  a  law,  the  penalty  of  which  is  death. 
As  you  are  led  forth  to  die,  executive  clemency  interposes 
and  pardons  you.  But  are  you  not  a  murderer  still  ?  The 
governor's  pardon  will  not  enable  you  to  bring  back  the 
dead.  Could  you  do  this,  you  would  not  need  pardon; 
you  would  be  legally  acquitted:  there  would  be  no  law  to 
execute  you.  But  the  executive  can  not  free  you  from  the 
fad  of  murder,  for  there  lies  the  lifeless  viftim  of  your 
hate.  He  can  only  pardon  you — release  you — from  the 
/^zw  of  murder.  Mercy  triumphs  over  justice.  In  all  other 
respedls,  the  governor  leaves  you  as  he  found  you.  You 
can  not  make  restitution.  An  ocean  of  tears  will  not  wash 
out  the  stains  of  the  blood  which  you  have  shed;  time  will 
not  fade  out  the  damning  evidence  of  your  guilt;  an  eter- 
nity of  penitence  will  not  call  back  the  life  which  you  have 
taken.  There  is  but  one  hope  for  you ;  that  hope  lies  in 
pardon,  and  pardon  is  just  what  you  receive.  Though 
guilty,  you  are  henceforth  treated  as  though  you  were  not 
guilty.  The  application  is  easy.  As  a  sinner,  I  am  placed 
under  a  law  which  I  have  violated  every  hour  of  my  re- 
sponsible life.  The  penalty  of  this  law  is  death:  "The 
soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die."  Now,  what  shall  be  done 
to  atone  for  past  infradlions  of  this  law,  though  I  should 
be  able  to.  keep  it  in  the  future?  It  still  clamors  for  my 
Dlood.  Pardon  is  what  I  want,  and  pardon — as  it  respeds 
my  past  sins — is  the  one  thing  which  the  Savior  promises 
me  on  the  sole  condition  of  my  becoming  obedient  to  his 
will.  The  moment  that  I,  from  the  heart,  yield  my  will 
to  his  will,  and  submit  myself  to  his  authority,  I  am  par- 


428 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


doned.  That  moment  I  am  released  from  th&power  of  the 
law  of  sin  and  death,  and  am  freely  accepted  in  the  Beloved. 
Having  pardoned  me,  he  now  lives  and  reigns  to  make  in- 
tercession for  me.  But  I  am  weak,  and  the  motions  of 
sin  are  still  in  my  body;  therefore,  I  shall  need  constantly 
to  bathe  my  soul  in  the  fountain  of  Divine  mercy,  until 
the  conflidl  with  sin  is  ended,  and  my  ransomed  spirit  shall 
rest  in  the  paradise  of  God. 


] 

) 
I 


WILLIAM  BAXTER. 


Y\7'ILLIAM  BAXTER  was  born  in  Leeds,  Yorkshire,  England,  July 
~    6,  1820,  and  emigrated,  with  his  parents,  to  the  United  States,  in 
the  year  1828. 

His  parents  were  members  of  the  English  Church ;  consequently  his  early 
religious  training  was  in  accordance  with  the  Episcopal  faith.  His  natural 
inclinations,  however,  did  not  lead  him  to  sympathize  with  the  church  of 
his  parents.  He  sought  church  connexions  where  his  warm,  impulsive, 
and  generous  nature  would  find  more  scope  and  freedom.  Hence,  when 
about  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Prot- 
estant Church  in  Alleghany  City. 

But  this  position  was  destined  to  be  only  temporary.  He  found  the 
Methodists  a  zealous  and  aftive  people,  and,  so  far,  he  was  satisfied  with 
his  religious  conneftions.  But,  as  he  became  more  and  more  acquainted 
with  the  Bible,  he  was  fully  convinced  that  he  had  not  obeyed  the  Gospel 
according  to  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament.  This  convidtion  soon 
led  him  to  demand  a  Scriptural  baptism,  and  he  was  accordingly  immersed, 
in  1838,  by  the  lamented  Samuel  Church,  who  was  then  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Alleghany  City. 

In  the  year  1841,  he  entered  Bethany  College  as  a  student,  and,  after 
remaining  four  years,  graduated  in  1845,  having,  in  the  meantime,  given 
considerable  promise  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  After  leaving  college 
he  entered  at  once  aftively  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  preached 
one  year  for  the  brethren  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania;  then  three  years 
at  Port  Gibson,  Mississippi;  next,  Wilkinson  County,  Mississippi,  seven 
years ;  next  at  Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana,  and  Fayetteville,  Arkansas,  four  years ; 
and  finally,  at  Cincinnati  and  New  Lisbon,  Ohio.  At  the  former  place  he 
labored  for  the  Sixth-street  Church  about  two  years,  and  at  the  latter  he  is 
at  present  located,  where  he  is  doing  an  excellent  work  in  building  up  and 
strengthening  the  cause  of  Christ  in  that  part  of  the  State.  He  has  also 
been  quite  successful  as  a  teacher,  having  filled,  in  a  satisfaftory  manner, 

(429) 


430  THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  Chair  of  Belles-Lettres  in  Newton  College,  Mississippi,  and,  more  re- 
cently, the  Presidency  of  Arkansas  College,  at  Fayetteville,  Arkansas. 

Besides  publishing  a  volume  of  poems  in  1852,  he  has  been,  for  many 
years,  a  regular  contributor  to  several  public  journals.  Among  these  may 
be  mentioned  the  "Ladies'  Repository,"  "Southern  Literary  Messenger," 
and  "Millennial  Harbinger."  In  1864,  he  published  a  volume  entitled 
"Pea  Ridge  and  Prairie  Grove;  or.  Scenes  and  Incidents  of  the  War  in 
Arkansas." 

Brother  Baxter  is  rather  small  of  stature,  but  compaftly  built ;  has  strongly  • 
marked  features,  with  a  nervous,  excitable  temperament.  Although  in  years 
past  he  has  been  in  feeble  health,  he  looks  now  as  if  his  health  was  quite 
vigorous.   But  his  constitution  is  one  which  needs  constant,  careful  watch 
ing. 

Both  as  a  writer  and  speaker  he  is  chaste  and  easy  in  style,  while  his 
thoughts  are  always  pure  and  elevating.  He  has  deep  and  -tender  sympa 
thies,  with  large  and  aftive  benevolence ;  consequently  the  poor  and  dis 
tressed  never  came  to  him  in  vain.  As  a  pastor  of  a  church,  he  is  attentive 
to  the  real  wants  of  his  people,  and  labors  earnestly  for  their  spiritua 
advancement.  In  this  department  of  labor  he  has  been  eminently  sue 
cessful. 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD. 


BY  WILLIAM  BAXTER. 


"  For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." — 
John  iii :  i6. 

NEVER  were  words  more  deeply  fraught  with  mean- 
ing than  those  which  the  Savior  uttered  in  the  hear- 
ing of  the  learned  Rabbi  of  Israel,  words  of  deep  import 
to  you,  to  me,  to  the  whole  family  of  man.  They  make 
known  the  most  benign  attribute  of  the  Divine  Father; 
present  before  us  its  loftiest  exhibition,  and  declare  to 
dying  men  its  blissful  result.  That  attribute  is  the  love 
of  God;  the  exhibition  of  it,  the  death  of  his  Son;  the  re- 
sult, the  eternal  salvation  of  all  those  who,  by  holy  obedi- 
ence, manifest  their  trust  in  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

The  angels  who  beheld  the  marvels  of  creative  power 
when  God  called  our  world  into  being,  saw  not,  until  the 
fourth  day,  the  regal  sun,  the  queenly  moon,  and  the  starry 
host.  Nor  did  hoary  patriarch,  mitred  priest,  or  inspired 
prophet,  ever  behold  such  glories  as  met  the  gaze  of  the 
fishermen  of  Galilee  when  Jesus  appeared  to  them  on  the 
holy  mount,  as  he  appears  to'  the  immortals  now.  For 
four  thousand  years  God  had  been  giving  the  world 

(431) 


432 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


proofs  of  his  love;  but  how  deep,  how  tender,  how  ex- 
haustless  that  love,  the  world  never  knew,  until  the  Sav- 
ior's words  to  Nicodemus  were  fulfilled. 

In  contemplating  the  love  and  compassion  of  God,  there 
is  danger  of  a  trust  and  confidence  that  borders  upon  pre- 
sumption ;  while  too  great  attention  to  the  severer  attri- 
butes— such  as  justice  and  holiness — may  lead  to  doubt, 
and  even  despair.  Viewed  in  connexion,  the  beauty  and 
harmony  of  the  whole  is  to  be  seen.  As  in  the  deluge, 
while  there  is  anger  and  justice,  so  there  is  an  ark,  a  dove, 
an  olive-leaf,  the  smoke  of  sacrifice  ascending,  and,  ovei 
all,  the  rainbow  hues  of  love  and  peace ;  the  fierce,  surg- 
ing waters,  like  the  frown  of  God — the  rainbow,  like  his 
smile  of  love. 

Thus,  we  may  contemplate  the  power  of  God  as  dis- 
played in  creating  and  sustaining  this  vast  universe ;  be- 
hold it,  in  the  fierce  tornado,  and  the  wild  commotion  of 
the  ocean  storm;  see  it  reflected  in  the  glare  of  the  forked 
lightning,  as  it  darts  across  the  darkened  heavens;  hear  it 
proclaimed  by  the  muttering  thunder,  as  if  he  were  speak- 
ing in  tones  of  wrath  to  a  guilty  world  ;  and  we  shall  find 
there  is  nothing  in  all  this  calculated  to  awaken  any  othei 
feeling  save  that  of  terror  and  trembling  awe. 

When  we  remember  that  God  fills  all  things — that  he  is 
every-where  present — that  thought  is  calculated  to  arouse 
our  fears,  and  rivet  upon  our  minds  the  convidtion  that 
we  can  not  go  where  he  is  not;  we  feel  that  God  is  above, 
beneath,  around  us  ;  with  us  in  the  crowded  city  and  the 
solitary  desert;  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  and  the  hurry 
of  business;  in  the  bustle  of  noonday,  and  the  silence  of 
midnight ;  in  the  hall  of  revelry,  and  the  temple  devoted 
to  his  service;  with  us  at  home  and  abroad,  in  and  around 
our  daily  paths ;  and,  with  the  minstrel  king,  we  are  led 


WILLIAM  BAXTER. 


433 


to  exclaim:  "Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  Spirit,  or 
whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence.  If  I  ascend  into 
the  heavens,  thou  art  there ;  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell, 
thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning,  and 
dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  even  there  thy 
hand  shall  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me." 
And  the  boldest  will  tremble  when  he  remembers  that  he 
is  in  the  presence  of  the  Ever-present  One. 

If  we  remember  that  God  knows  all  things,  from  the 
thoughts  of  the  loftiest  intelligence  that  burns  near  his 
throne,  to  the  instindl  of  the  most  insignificant  creature 
that  he  has  made;  that  he  looks  on  us  not  as  man  looks, 
but  that  his  piercing  eye  sees  through  all  our  disguises 
and  concealments,  penetrates  the  flimsy  vail  of  hypocrisy, 
discerns  the  very  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart,  we 
quail  before  the  searching  glance  of  the  All-seeing  One, 
to  whom  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  are  known,  and  who  will 
disclose  them  before  the  assembled  universe,  for  our  ap- 
proval or  condemnation,  in  the  judgment  of  the  great  day. 

We  call  to  mind  the  declaration  of  holy  writ,  that  just- 
ice and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  Jehovah's  throne, 
and  his  righteous  laws,  which  we  have  so  often  broken, 
rise  up  and  condemn  us;  a  fearful  day  of  retribution  in 
the  future  threatens,  and  our  guilty  souls  find  no  refuge, 
no  hiding-place  from  the  storm  in  the  justice  of  God. 

We  turn  to  his  holiness,  the  stainless  purity  of  his  char- 
after  ;  we  look  at  the  defilement  which  sin  has  brought 
upon  us;  we  feel  that,  like  the  leper,  we  should  place  our 
hands  upon  our  mouths  and  cry,  "Unclean!  unclean!" 
His  purity,  contrasted  with  our  sin,  his  holiness,  with  the 
corruption  which  we  feel  in  our  own  nature,  leaves  us  no 
foundation  for  hope  in  the  holiness  of  God.  Had  God 
manifested  no  other  attributes  of  his  nature  than  these, 
28 


434 


THE  LJVING  PULPIT. 


the  condition  of  man  would  have  been  hapless  in  the  ex- 
treme; hope  would  have  long  since  died  in  tne  human 
heart,  and  our  race  would  have  toiled  on  in  despair,  from 
the  cradle  to  the  grave :  but  it  is  recorded  on  the  sacred  page 
that  "God  is  love;"  that  "God  so  loved  the  world;"  and 
these  glad  words  drive  away  all  our  fears;  they  bid  us  draw 
near  with  filial  confidence,  and,  from  full  hearts,  cry. 
Father!  father! 

As  the  loveliest  and  sublimest  obje6ts  in  nature,  under 
certain  circumstances,  rather  alarm  than  delight  us,  so  some 
of  the  attributes  of  God,  contemplated  singly,  fill  the  soul 
with  dread;  but,  when  viewed  in  relation  to  each  other, 
they  glow  in  the  hues  of  loveliness  alone.  Thus,  if  we 
wander  at  nightfall  in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  there  is 
naught  around  us  to  give  delight;  the  night  wind  sweeps 
through  the  overspreading  branches  like  a  wail  of  woe, 
and  strange  shapes  are  dimly  seen  through  the  gloom;  a 
horror  of  great  darkness  fills  the  mind  with  vague  and  un- 
defined terror,  and  we  long  to  escape  from  the  fearful  place. 
But,  lo !  the  moon  rises  in  queenly  splendor,  and  pours 
her  mild  radiance  over  the  scene;  the  dew-drops  glitter 
upon  the  leaves  like  diamonds  set  in  emeralds;  the  wind's 
sad  sigh  now  becomes  a  lofty  hymn;  and  the  scene,  late  so 
desolate  and  drear,  as  if  by  enchantment,  is  changed  to  one 
of  surpassing  loveliness.  How  awful,  in  the  midnight 
gloom,  is  the  thunder  of  Niagara!  how  awe-inspiring  the 
fierce  rush  of  its  fearful  leap  into  the  gulf  below!  The 
soul  is  hushed  in  its  solemn  presence,  while  fancy  shapes 
its  rising  mists  into  unearthly  forms.  But  day  comes  on 
apace,  and  all  its  terrors  depart;  like  pure  crystal  seems 
the  torrent  now;  the  sunbeams  irradiate  the  falling  spray, 
and  the  late  dreadful  cataraft  wears  a  rainbow,  like  a  crown 
of  glory,  on  its  brow.  And  thus  it  is,  when  the  heart  is  de- 


WILLIAM  BAXTER. 


435 


pressed  by  the  thought  that  God  is  all-seeing,  ever-present, 
holy,  just,  and  true;  then  the  thought  comes,  that  he  is 
full  of  compassion  and  tender  love,  and,  like  the  moon- 
beams to  the  darkened  forest,  or  the  sweet  sunlight  to  the 
cataradl,  so  is  the  light  of  love  to  those  attributes  that  once 
inspired  terror  alone.  The  power  of  the  Almighty,  under 
the  guidance  of  love,  will  be  exerted  for  the  protedlion  of 
the  objedl  of  that  love;  his  presence,  which  made  us  trem- 
ble, will  become,  of  all  things,  the  most  desirable;  his  uni- 
versal knowledge  will  make  him  acquainted  with  all  our 
wants  and  all  our  woes;  holiness  will  glow  brighter  in  the 
light  of  love;  the  severity  of  justice  will  be  softened;  for 
in  the  great  exhibition  of  love  which  God  has  made  in  the 
death  of  his  Son,  justice  and  mercy  truly  have  met,  right- 
eousness and  peace  have  embraced  each  other. 

God  has  ever  loved  our  race.  From  the  time  that  his 
mandate  called  our  first  parent  from  the  dust,  his  kind 
care  and  tender  love  have  been  extended  over  us.  The 
sentence  of  exile  from  Eden  had  scarcely  been  pronounced, 
when  God  made  known  his  love  to  man  by  giving  the 
gracious  promise,  that  one  born  of  woman,  like  a  mighty 
conqueror,  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  arch  enemy,  and 
win  for  man  a  brighter  Eden  than  Adam  lost.  God  mani- 
fested his  love  by  permitting  man  to  approach  him  through 
the  medium  of  sacrifice;  by  his  speaking,  through  angels, 
to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob;  by  the  rites  and  ceremo- 
nies of  the  Mosaic  institution;  by  sending  prophet  after 
prophet,  and  teacher  after  teacher,  to  instrud;  our  race  and 
draw  it  back  to  himself.  But  all  these  exhibitions  of  love 
failed  to  recall  lost  man  from  his  wanderings.  He  treated 
his  messengers  with  scorn,  and,  by  his  perversity,  for- 
feited all  claim  to  his  merciful  forbearance;  yet  God  for- 
sook him  not,  but  gave  him  the  strongest  possible  proof 


436  -  THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  his  love,  to  win  him  from  sin  and  sorrow,  to  holiness, 
to  happiness,  and  Heaven.  Love  consists  not  in  word,  but 
in  deed.  Men  prove  their  love  by  their  actions,  as  did 
the  Roman  Decius,  who,  in  order  to  secure  viftorv  on  the 
side  of  his  countrv,  in  accordance  with  the  predid:ion  ut- 
tered by  the  oracle,  drew  his  robe  around  him,  and  rush- 
ing into  the  thickest  ranks  of  the  opposing  host,  yielded 
himself  a  willing  vidim,  that  Rome  might  be  free;  or  as 
Winkelried,  who  gladly  threw  himself  on  the  Austrian 
spears,  to  open  the  way  for  liberty  to  Switzerland;  or  as 
Leonidas,  who,  with  the  noble  three  hundred,  met  the 
rushing  myriads  of  the  Persian  despot,  and  bravely  died, 
that  Greece  might  not  wear  the  yoke.  Thus  God,  stoop- 
ing to  the  usages  of  men,  to  prove  his  love  to  our  race, 
gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life. 

But  let  us  examine  the  meaning  of  the  saying,  "Gave 
his  Son."  Does  it  mean  that  God  sent  his  Son  as  an  am- 
bassador, attended  by  shining  legions  of  angels,  to  treat 
with  our  revolted  race,  and  bring  them  back  to  their  alle- 
giance: Xo;  he  came  in  lowlv  guise;  no  stately  palace 
received  him  ;  no  princely  couch  sustained  his  infant  head; 
no  national  rejoicing  hailed  his  birth;  an  obscure  village 
is  the  place  where  the  Son  of  the  Highest  makes  his  ap- 
pearance; and  he  is  cradled  where  the  horned  oxen  fed. 

But  was  the  obscurity  of  his  birth  and  the  coldness  of 
his  reception,  the  privations  and  dangers  of  his  infantile 
vears,  all  that  was  meant  by  God  giving;  his  Son  ?  Ah, 
no ;  for,  though  when  he  first  appeared  among  men,  he 
stooped  from  heaven  to  earth,  this  vast  descent  came  far, 
short  of  exhausting  its  meaning,  and  we  must  seek  it  in 
his  future  history. 

Behold  him,  in  the  desert,  undergoing  fierce  trial. 


WILLIAM  BAXTER. 


437 


The  adversary  of  our  race  assails  him  on  every  point, 
while  demons  and  angels  look  with  deep  anxiety  for  the 
issue  of  this  superhuman  conflidl.  He  triumphs,  but  it 
is  only  to  encounter  new  trials,  to  undergo  new  suffer- 
ings; for,  though  he  were  maker  of  all  things,  yet  did  he 
suffer  need;  and,  on  one  occasion,  we  hear  the  homeless 
wanderer  exclaim:  "The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds 
of  the  air  have  nests ;  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where 
to  lay  his  head."  Contrast  his  friendless  destitution  with 
the  glory  he  had  laid  aside,  on  our  behalf,  and  then  ask. 
Is  not  even  this  a  wonderful  display  of  our  Father's 
love? 

But  let  us  follow  his  eventful  life,  through  priestly  hate 
and  pharisaic  invedlive — a  life  stigmatized  as  evil,  though 
spent  in  doing  good — to  that  scene  of  sorrow  which  trans- 
pired in  Gethsemane  Garden  on  the  night  of  his  dark 
betrayal.  He  had  just  eaten  the  last  supper  with  the  twelve; 
he  had  seen  Judas  depart;  and  well  did  he  know  the  foul 
purpose  which  filled  his  traitorous  bosom.  The  echoes 
of  the  hymn  which  closed  the  feast  had  died  away,  and, 
with  his  disciples,  he  sought  the  retirement  of  the  Garden, 
whose  calm  solitude  had  often  invited  to  solemn  contem- 
plation and  earnest  prayer. 

"  Tarry  ye  here,  while  I  go  and  pray  yonder,"  he  says, 
and  soon  he  is  alone.  The  work  he  came  to  perform  is 
nearly  accomplished,  but,  as  the  closing  scene  draws  near, 
his  nature  seems  to  shrink  from  the  dread  encounter;  deep 
sorrow,  like  a  mountain  weight,  presses  on  his  heart,  and 
his  soul  becomes  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death. 
He  prostrates  himself  on  the  cold,  damp  earth,  and,  in  the 
most  touching  tones,  he  makes  his  petition  to  the  Father. 
He  pours  out  his  soul  to  God  in  strong  cries  and  tears, 
but  no  other  deliverer  can  be  found,  and  he  treads  the 


+38 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


wine-press  alone.  He  rises  and  seeks  his  disciples;  but 
they  had  forgotten  their  sorrows  in  sleep.  He  leaves  them, 
and  again  prays  in  anguish  of  spirit.  He  even  asks  the 
third  time,  and,  while  prostrate  in  the  dreadful  agony  of 
that  fearful  hour — such  was  the  burden  of  our  guilt,  so 
intense  the  pain  and  mental  agony  which  he  endured,  that 
his  sweat  was  as  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the 
ground — and  the  meek  sufferer,  in  that  hour  of  mortal 
anguish,  cries  :  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass 
from  me;  nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done." 

We  now  begin  to  perceive  the  meaning  of  the  words 
*'  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten 
Son,"  as  we  gaze  .on  the  sorrowful  scene  which  transpired 
near  the  hour  of  midnight  in  that  Garden's  shade.  Oh  ! 
it. was  a  fearful  and  a  gloomy  hour.  Angels,  doubtless, 
were  near,  weeping,  too,  if  angels  ever  wept,  and  gazing 
with  intense  interest  upon  the  sight,  and  wondering  when 
this  scene  of  sorrow,  this  scene  of  love,  would  end.  De- 
mons, too,  looked  on  w^ith  scowling  hate,  or  rejoiced  in 
the  apparent  defeat  of  the  Great  Champion  of  our  race ; 
while  man,  alone  of  all  created  intelligences,  for  whom, 
too,  all  this  was  transpiring,  was  unobservant  and  un- 
moved. It  might  be  thought  that  the  scene  might,  with 
propriety,  close  here;  that  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  love 
of  God  had  been  given  ;  that  it  was  enough  that  his  Son 
had  descended  to  earth  in  humility;  that  he  had  dwelt 
amid  scenes  of  sorrow  and  privation  ;  that,  under  the  load 
of  our  guilt,  while  we  had  no  tears  for  our  own  crimes, 
they  had  caused  the  bloody  drops  of  agony  to  fall  from 
the  bodv  of  God's  beloved  Son.  But,  no  ;  God  has  an 
other  exhibition  of  love,  than  which  he  himself  could  give 
no  greater.  Without  the  shedding  of  blood,  there  could 
be  no  remission.    Man  must  die,  or  the  Son  of  the  High- 


WILLIAM  BAXTER. 


est  must  bleed.  God  gives  the  just  for  the  unjust,  and 
the  spotless  Lamb  of  God  is  slain  for  us. 

We  now  come  to  the  grand  climax  of  the  love  of  our 
heaven'y  Father,  in  which  all  the  rich  fullness  of  his  affec- 
tion is  displayed;  and,  if  man  be  not  convinced  of  his  love 
by  this  crowning  ad:,  he  must  forever  remain  in  utter  and 
hopeless  skepticism.  This  is  heaven's  last  argument;  for, 
when  God  gives  his  Son  to  die,  there  is  no  greater  gift  in 
the  treasury  of  the  skies,  to  demonstrate  his  great,  his  ex- 
ceeding love  to  man. 

It  is  a  solemn,  and  often  a  fearful  thing,  to  die.  There 
is  something  in  death's  approach  which  makes  the  best 
and  bravest  tremble;  the  severing  of  all  earthly  ties;  the 
cold,  clammy  sweat,  the  failing  breath,  the  struggle  of  the 
spirit  for  life,  and  the  unspeakable  anguish  which  often 
attends  the  closing  scene,  makes  us  shrink  instindlively 
from  the  dying  strife.  Some,  however,  who  have  fallen 
on  the  battle-plain,  in  their  country's  cause,  have  been 
known  to  die  exultingly  in  the  moment  of  vidlory,  ex- 
claiming: "'Tis  sweet,  oh!  'tis  sweet  for  my  country  to 
die  !"  The  Christian  martyr  has  been  seen  to  yield  up 
his  life  amid  devouring  flames,  in  proof  of  his  attachment 
to  his  Lord  and  Master.  Nay,  many,  very  many,  have 
triumphed  on  the  bed  of  pain  and  languishing,  and,  up- 
borne by  a  living  faith,  have  looked  upon  death  with  an 
unfaltering  gaze.  But,  when  death  comes  attended  with 
open  shame  and  ignominy;  when  the  infuriated  mob  pours 
out  its  reproaches  on  the  objed  of  its  hate,  and  clamors 
furiously  for  his  blood ;  when  no  tear  is  shed  for  the  suf- 
ferer; when  his  eye  looks  around  for  a  single  look  of  pity, 
and  sees  it  not ;  when  his  ear  listens  for  one  kind  word  to 
soothe  his  last  agony,  and  hears  it  not;  then,  indeed,  is 
death  terrible.    And  yet  to  such  a  death  did  God  give  his 


440 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Son.  He  gave  him  freely  for  us  all,  that  he  might  taste 
death  for  every  man.  He  met  it  in  its  most  repulsive 
form — partook  of  the  death  appointed  for  the  vilest  male- 
fadors,  in  token  that  the  benefits  of  his  death  might  be 
enjoyed  by  the  vilest  of  our  race.  Betrayed  by  a  false 
friend ;  seized  by  rude  foes  in  the  Garden,  hallowed  by  his 
prayers;  deserted  by  his  disciples,  he  is  confronted  with 
those  who  long  have  thirsted  for  his  blood. 

It  is  night;  yet,  with  indecent  haste,  they  begin  the 
trial.  False  witnesses  fail  to  fasten  any  crime  upon  him. 
The  Roman  governor  declares  "  I  find  no  fault  in  him." 
Yet,  when  all  the  vile  arts  of  flattery,  intimidation,  and 
perjury  fail — for  confessing  the  truth,  that  he  is  the  Son  of 
God — he  is  condemned  to  die.  It  is  day — high  day — and 
now  the  scene  of  shame,  the  scene  of  sorrow,  begins.  The 
multitude,  excited  by  their  leaders,  demand  his  execution; 
and,  in  answer  to  their  blood-thirsty  clamors,  the  victim 
is  led  forth.  His  body,  lacerated  with  cruel  stripes,  seems 
one  gushing  wound;  yet  that  bleeding  body  and  thorn- 
pierced  brow  awakens  no  pity  in  the  breasts  of  his  relent- 
less persecutors.  Ten  thousand  eyes  glare  fiercely  upon 
him — ten  thousand  voices  rend  the  heavens  with  the  shout 
of,  "Crucify  him!  crucify  him!"  as,  with  fiendish  exultation, 
they  behold  him  delivered  to  their  will.  And  now  the  liv- 
ing tide  presses  to  the  city  gate;  the  priest,  the  scribe,  the 
publican,  the  Pharisee,  soldiers  and  civilians,  rich  and  poor, 
are  all  in  that  throng,  all  animated  by  the  same  thirst  for 
blood,  all  joining  in  bitter  execrations,  all  striving  to  fill, 
with  unmingled  bitterness,  the  cup  of  agony  he  is  called 
upon  to  drink;  and  yet  no  maledid:ion  falls  from  the  lips 
of  that  meek  sufferer;  no  bright-armed  legions  are  called 
from  the  skies,  to  spread  destruction  through  that  ungodly 
throng;  but,  as  a  sheep  led  to  the  slaughter,  with  painful 


WILLIAM  BAXTER. 


441 


Step  and  slow,  he  urges  his  way  up  the  rugged  steep  of  Cal- 
vary. The  goal  of  his  earthly  course  is  reached;  his  un- 
resisting form  is  nailed  to  the  cursed  tree;  the  cross  is  up- 
raised, and  the  spotless  vidim  hangs  on  high;  and  for  a 
season  the  powers  of  darkness  seem  to  triumph.  The  tur- 
baneS  priest  mocks  him  in  his  bitter  agony;  the  Pharisee 
smiles  in  scorn,  the  rabble  revile  and  insult  the  dying 
victim. 

"  Still  from  his  lip  no  curse  hath  come. 
His  lofty  eye  hath  looked  no  doom. 
No  earthquake's  burst,  no  angel  brand. 
Curses  the  black,  blaspheming  band." 

No;  but  from  those  pale  lips,  quivering  with  anguish, 
issue  the  kind,  compassionate  words:  "Father,  forgive 
them;"  and  thus,  in  agony,  he  hung,  bleeding,  suffering, 
dying;  he  bowed  his  head,  cried,  "  It  is  finished,"  and  died 
for  us;  and  it  is  in  this  scene  that  we  must  look  for  the 
full  import  of  the  words  "God  so  loved  the  world  that 
he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son." 

But  why  all  this  Divine  compassion,  all  this  love,  and 
all  this  woe?  The  answer  is:  "That  whosoever  believeth 
in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  Not 
that  all  our  race  will  be  saved  because  Jesus  died;  not 
that  the  unbelieving  and  disobedient  will  be  forced  to  the 
heaven  they  have  striven  to  avoid;  not  that  the  proud 
scoffer  and  despiser  of  God's  Son  will  be  saved  by  that 
blood  he  now  spurns  and  tramples  upon;  but  that  who- 
soever believeth,  may  come  to  Christ  and  live.  But  does 
a  mere  acceptance  of  the  truth  set  forth  in  the  text  save.'' 
No;  the  sinner  must  trust  in  the  Crucified  One;  must  love 
him  who  laid  down  his  life  for  his  sake;  must  prove  his 
love  and  trust,  by  obeying  his  commandments;  for  the 
faith  that  leads  not  to  love  and  all  holy  obedience,  is  not 


442 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  But  what  is  meant  by  the  phrase 
" Not  perish.'' "  Does  it  mean,  " Shall  not  die? "  Surely 
not,  for  believers  and  unbelievers  alike  taste  of  death,  and 
are  laid  in  the  narrow  mansion  appointed  for  all  the  living. 
The  perishing,  from  which  the  believer  is  to  be  rescued,  is 
more  than  the  death  of  the  body.  It  is  the  despair,  the 
remorse,  the  unutterable  woe,  the  bitter  pang  of  the  second 
death,  which  all  shall  know  who  despise  the  gift  of  God's 
great  love,  and,  by  their  unbelief  and  consequent  disobe- 
dience, exclude  themselves  forever  from  the  paradise 
above.  The  believer  in  the  Son  of  God,  however,  has 
more  to  expecfl  than  a  mere  escape  from  the  woes  conse- 
quent upon  disobedience;  for  it  is  not  only  declared 
"that  he  shall  not  perish,"  but  the  gracious  promise  is 
added,  "  that  he  shall  have  everlasting  life" — a  life  not  of 
endless  duration  only,  but  a  life  of  eternaf  blessedness  in 
the  presence  of  Him  who  makes  heaven  glorious  and  the 
angels  glad.  The  society  of  the  prophets,  the  apostles,  the 
martyrs,  and  all  the  pure  in  heart;  a  place  near  the  crystal 
stream  that  flows  from  beneath. the  throne;  the  fruit  and 
the  shade  of  the  tree  of  life ;  exemption  from  sickness,  sor- 
row, and  tears;  the  harp  of  praise,  the  crown  of  glory,  the 
palm  of  vidory,  everlasting  joys,  eternal  songs,  all  the 
heart  can  wish — nay,  more  than  the  loftiest  thought  can 
conceive  of  blessedness,  are  all  included  in  the  promise  of 
everlasting  life — the  inheritance  of  the  believer  in  Jesus. 

A  word  to  those  who  have  not  availed  themselves  of 
the  merciful  provisions  of  the  Gospel  of  peace,  land  we 
have  done.  You  have  seen  the  wonderful  display  of  love 
which  God  has  made,  and  all  this  was  done  for  you.  You 
have  seen  the  Lamb  of  God  bleeding,  groaning,  agonizing, 
dying,  not  to  save  friends,  but  to  secure  happiness  for  his 
foes.    Will  God  permit  you  to  slight  all  this  love,  and  all 


WILLIAM  BAXTER. 


443 


this  sorrow,  and  yet  hold  you  guiltless?  Will  you  steel 
your  hearts  against  all  that  God  has  done  and  Christ  has 
suffered?  Amid  all  those  manifestations  of  tender  compas- 
sion, will  you  force  your  way  down  to  ruin,  and  madly 
seek  that  perdition  from  which  the  Redeemer  died  to  save 
you  ?  Will  you  still  trample  underfoot  his  loving-kindness 
and  tender  mercy,  and  expose  yourself  to  all  the  unspeak  - 
able horrors  of  death  eternal?  Stop,  I  entreat  you!  Be 
persuaded  by  your  soul's  peril,  by  the  Savior's  blood  and 
tears.  If  you  shrink  from  the  responsibilities  of  a  follower 
of  Christ,  think,  for  a  moment,  of  the  fearful  responsibili- 
ties of  his  enemies.  If  you  shrink  at  the  difficulty  of  obe- 
dience, think  of  the  danger  of  disobedience.  If  the  weight 
of  the  cross  appall  you,  think,  O  think,  of  the  brightness 
of  the  unfading,  the  immortal  crown!  God  loves  you; 
can  you  doubt  it,  when  you  look  upon  the  cross,  and  its 
bleeding  vidim?  Christ  loves  you;  can  you  doubt  it, 
when,  for  you — 

"He  left  his  starry  crown. 
And  laid  his  robes  aside; 
On  wings  of  love  came  down. 
And  wept,  and  bled,  and  died?" 

Can  you  doubt  it,  when,  through  his  Gospel,  he  is  ever 
crying:  "Come  unto  me?"  Can  you  stay  away,  when  he 
says:  "He  that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out?"  Turn,  then,  from  all  your  sins  away,  "for  the 
wages  of  sin  is  death."  Turn  to  the  Savior,  believe  in 
him,  love  him,  obey  him;  "for  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal 
life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 


CHARLES  LOUIS  LOOS. 


CHARLES  LOUIS  LOOS  was  born,  December  22,  1823,  at  Woerth- 
sur-Sauer,  Department  of  the  Lower  Rhine,  France.  His  father's  name 
was  Jacques  G.  Loos,  and  he  was  also  a  native  of  France;  his  mother  was 
a  native  of  Bavaria,  consequently,  German. 

The  early  life  of  Charles,  in  France,  was  spent,  after  his  fourth  year, 
in  attending  the  academy  in  his  native  place,  until  his  departure  for  the 
United  States,  in  1834.  His  father,  who  was  an  enthusiastic  Republican, 
left  France  for  America,  in  1832,  to  find  a  home  for  the  family.  The 
family  followed  in  the  fall  of  1834,  when  they  reached  the  United 
States,  found  the  father  sick  at  New  Franklin,  Starke  County,  Ohio,  where, 
in  a  short  time,  he  died. 

While  he  was  in  France,  Charles  had  been  educated  in  both  the  French 
and  German  languages,  and  his  knowledge  of  these  enabled  him  soon  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  English.  His  family  belonged  to  the  Lutheran 
Cnurch,  and  he  was  trained  religiously  by  a  pious  grandmother,  in  whose 
(^milv  ne  was  reared.  He  has  never  ceased  to  recognize  the  blessed  influ- 
ence of  n'=  earlv  religious  training,  and  thinks  he  is  largely  indebted  to  it 
for  becommg  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

In  the  fall  of  1837,  he  was  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran  Church;  in  a 
few  months  afterward  he  became  acquainted  with  the  Disciples,  of  whom 
there  was  a  Church  at  Minerva,  five  miles  from  his  home.  He  at  once 
began  to  examine  their  religious  position,  and,  having  become  satisfied  that 
it  was  in  accordance  with  the  teaching  of  the  Word  of  God,  in  1838,  at  a 
meeting  held  by  J.  Wesley  Lanpheare,  he  was  immersed  by  John  Whit- 
acre.  This  caused  great  bitterness  and  opposition  among  his  Lutheran 
relatives;  but  he  had  taken  the  step  under  an  earnest  conviftion  of  duty, 
and  did  not  stop  to  consult  with  flesh  and  blood. 

He  taught  school  at  sixteen  years  of  age,  and,  at  seventeen,  began  to 
preach  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home,  and  gave  great  promise  of  future  use- 
fulness. 

Tn  September   1842,  he  entered  Bethany  College,  where  he  graduated 

(44s) 


446 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


in  1846,  and  remained  in  the  college  three  years,  as  a  teacher  in  the  pri- 
mary department.  He  was  married  at  Bethany,  July  6,  1848,  to  Rosetta 
E.  Kerr,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Kerr,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  of  Newry, 
Ireland.    She  had  been  in  America  four  years. 

In  1849,  he  was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  removed  to 
Wellsburg,  Virginia,  and  preached  for  the  Church  at  that  place  one  year. 
In  Oftober,  1850,  he  removed  to  Somerset,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  re- 
mained five  years,  and,  while  there,  in  addition  to  his  pastoral  labors,  edited 
a  monthly  periodical,  called  "  The  Disciple,"  for  two  years,  and  was  prin- 
cipal of  an  academy  for  the  same  length  of  time.  In  January,  1856,  he  took 
charge  of  the  Church  corner  of  Eighth  and  Walnut  streets,  Cincinnati,  also 
assisting  in  editing  the  "  Christian  Age."  Having  been  elefted  President  of 
Eureka  College,  Illinois,  he  moved  there  in  January,  1857,  and  remained 
till  September,  1858,  when  he  returned  to  Bethany  College,  having  been 
elefted  to  the  Chair  of  Ancient  Languages  and  Literature  in  that  institu- 
tion.   He  still  occupies  that  position. 

Professor  Loos  is  just  five  feet  ten  inches  high,  has  dark  hair,  light  hazel 
eyes,  and  weighs  about  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds.  His  personal  ap- 
pearance and  manners  indicate  his  French  origin,  while  his  speech  is  de- 
cidedly German.  The  influence  of  these  two  races  is  still  more  clearly 
marked  in  his  mental  charafteristics.  The  studious  thoughtfulness,  the 
philosophical  acumen,  the  plodding  industry,  and  the  generous  hospitality 
of  the  German  are  happily  blended  with  the  volatile  spirit,  fire,  and  en- 
thusiasm of  the  French.  He  is  a  deep,  earnest  thinker,  and  generally  takes 
a  broad,  comprehensive  view  of  things.  As  a  public  speaker,  his  style  is  verv 
original.  His  gesticulation  is  rapid,  and,  when  warmed  up,  his  thoughts 
flow  like  a  torrent.  His  whole  soul  seems  to  be  absorbed  in  his  theme,  and 
sometimes,  in  his  happiest  moods,  he  speaks  as  if  he  were  inspired. 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS  ONLY. 


BY  C.  L.  LOOS. 


"But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  which  the  world  is  crucified  to  me,  and  I  unto  the  world." — 
Gal.  vi :  14. 

WE  have  seledled  this  passage,  as  the  thought  which 
it  contains,  so  nobly  uttered  by  Paul,  has  ever 
been,  and  ever  will  be,  a  leading  one  for  guidance  in  the 
right  way — for  confidence  and  joy,  for  strength  and  vic- 
tory, to  every  true  Christian  heart.  It  is  a  bright  torch 
in  our  hand,  illuminating  the  path  of  our  studies  and  con- 
templations in  the  field  of  Christian  dodrine  and  Chris- 
tian history.  It  interprets  to  us  the  evangelical  voices  of 
the  prophets;  reveals  to  us  the  glorious  mysteries  of  our 
Savior's  earthly  history,  and  of  the  apostolic  life  and  la- 
bors ;  and  sends  its  illuminating  beams  across  centuries  and 
millenniums,  to  lead  men,  in  every  age,  to  a  true  under- 
standing of  the  advancing  history  of  the  Church  in  doc- 
trine and  in  life. 

The  strong  deprecatory  language  of  the  apostle  in  our 
text,  reveals  to  us  that  there  are  other  objedts  than  the 
Cross  in  which  men  glory;  that  all  such  glorying  is  not 
only  "vain,"  and  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel, 
but  in  the  highest  degree  fatal  to  the  fidelity  and  purity, 

(447) 


448 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  joy  and  power,  of  the  individual  Christian  life  in  the 
apostle,  and  to  the  work  of  God  in  his  hand.  So  we  are 
to  understand  and  accept  his  words.  It  is  strong,  decisive 
language,  most  comprehensive,  and  that  can  not  be  mis- 
understood, uttered  from  an  earnest  heart,  under  the 
promptings  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  It  is  one  of  those 
great  declarations  of  the  apostle  that  often,  in  one  word, 
reveal  to  us  the  great  law  of  his  own  and  of  all  Christian 
life,  individual  and  associate.  It  stands  before  us  not 
only  as  an  oracle  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and,  as  such,  demand- 
ing our  acceptance;  but,  beyond  this,  it  has  a  special  sig- 
nificance and  value  to  us,  in  revealing  the  law  of  life  that 
controlled  Paul  as  an  individual  Christian  man,  and  made 
him  what  he  was,  and  has  been,  for  all  ages,  as  a  monu- 
ment of  the  grace  of  God;  a  "  man  of  God,"  rising  loftily 
in  his  marvelous  devotion  to  Christ,  in  his  life  of  labor, 
suffering,  and  vidlories  for  Christ's  sake ;  for  he  speaks 
this  diredly  of  himself :  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the 
world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world." 

The  history  of  such  a  man  is  given  to  us  as  a  rich  in- 
heritance, and  should  ever  be  to  us  a  special  study,  that 
we  might  not  only  rejoice  in  what  he  was  in  his  wondrous 
life,  but  that  we  also  might  learn  the  mystery  of  such  a 
life.  It  thus  becomes  a  great  demonstraiion  of  what  the 
power  of  God  is  in  the  Gospel — that  "power  of  God  unto 
salvation,"  as  he  himself  has  called  it — in  so  marvelously 
transforming  the  lion-like,  fiercely-persecuting  Saul  of  tar- 
sus into  Paul  the  Christian  apostle,  through  a  long  life  of 
unexampled  endurances  the  lion-like  hero,  in  his  complete 
devotion  in  the  Gospel  as  a  "  servant  of  Christ." 

With  such  thoughts,  then,,  we  come  to  meditate  upon 
the  declaration  of  Paul  that  constitutes  our  text,  looking 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


449 


at  it  in  its  double  significance,  on  its  negative,  and  on  its 
positive  side ;  what  it  forbids  and  deprecates,  and  what  it 
rejoices  in  and  commands  as  the  true  and  chief  objedl  of 
our  glorying. 

It  is  our  purpose,  however,  especially  to  discuss  what  is 
embraced  in  the  negative  side  of  these  words,  what  Paul 
so  strongly  condemns,  as  it  is  this  condemnation  of  all 
false  glorying  that  gives  such  peculiar  force  to  the  declar  - 
ation, and  so  strongly  arrests  our  attention.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  part  of  the  study  of  our  text  must  be  evident 
to  the  thoughtful  Christian  mind.  The  very  force  of  the 
language  suggests  it,  and  the  careful  tracing  out  of  the  field 
which  it  covers  will  fully  reveal  and  justify  this  force  of 
words.  And  let  us  keep  steadfastly  in  mind  that  Paul's 
language  is  most  exclusive.  It  allows  no  objed:  of  "glory- 
ing" whatever,  in  the  strong  sense  which  Paul  gives  to 
this  word  here,  except  the  Cross  of  Christ.  His  denun- 
ciation, therefore — the  denunciation  of  the  Holy  Spirit — 
covers  all  that  lies  outside  of  this.  What,  then,  are  these 
false  objedls  of  human  glorying?  To  inquire  into  this 
shall  be  the  special  purpose  of  this  discourse. 

A  few  preliminary  reflections  are  necessary  to  give  the 
proper  designed  weight  to  what  we  intend  to  say. 

Since  man,  in  his  first  disobedience,  by  a  diredl  inspi- 
ration of  Satan,  threw  off  the  supreme  and  complete  do- 
minion of  God  over  him,  and  conceived  the  rebellious, 
fatal  thought  of  being  his  own  master  and  god — his  soul, 
in  its  disordered  wanderings,  has  been,  for  the  lack  of  this 
sovereign  control  from  on  high,  the  sport  of  sinful  pas- 
sions, by  which,  as  evil  powers,  it  has  been  urged  on  all 
sides  to  sin  against  God,  and  to  work  out  its  own  ruin. 
There  have  been  manifested  by  the  universal  implantation 
of  the  seeds  of  disobedience  and  sin  universal  tendencies 
29 


45° 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


away  from  God,  the  central  power  of  all  that  is  true,  and 
good,  and  blessed,  and  toward  all  that  is  false,  evil,  and 
destru6live  of  human  happiness.  These  tendencies  of  our 
evil  nature — as  they  are  alone  the  dired  offspring  of  sin, 
and  as  "all  have  sinned" — are  as  universal  as  humanity, 
inherent  in  our  "flesh,"  and  as  enduring  as  the  ages  of  sin 
on  earth.  It  is  of  great  consequence  well  to  note  this 
truth.  Wherever  one  being  is  that  wears  the  form  of 
Adam,  the  sinful,  the  earthy — that  is  clothed  in  the  flesh, 
dwelling  on  this  earth,  and  so  surrounded  by  the  world  of 
sin,  these  common  tendencies  to  evil  will  be  found  as  his 
perpetual  attendants.  They  are  neither  Asiatic,  African, 
European,  nor  American ;  they  are  Adamic.  They  belong 
exclusively,  neither  to  the  past,  the  present,  nor  the  future; 
they  belong  to  all  time.  They  are  limited  to  no  class; 
and  from  them  no  party — whatever  its  creed,  religion,  or 
its  philosophy,  whatever  its  attainments  in  knowledge  or 
life — is  free.  They  are  the  motions  of  sin,  and  will  cling 
to  us  all,  whatever,  in  any  resped:,  we  may  be,  as  long  as 
the  liability  to  sin  is  with  us;  as  long  as  "we  dwell  in 
houses  of  clay,  and  have  our  habitations  in  the  dust;"  as 
long  as  that  solemn  and  most  significant  saying  of  Christ 
will  be  true  of  us:  "The  spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the 
flesh  is  weak!" — as  long  as  this  "burden"  of  life,  of  this 
body  and  this  world,  is  upon  us. 

Humiliating  as  it  may  be  to  human  pride,  yet  it  is  most 
needful,  without  ceasing,  to  impress  this  truth  upon  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  men ;  for  such  is  our  proneness  to  pride 
and  self-righteousness,  such  our  trust  in  and  boast  of  creed 
and  party  perfedlion,  amounting  often  to  idolatry,  that  we 
perpetually  forget  that  we,  as  all  others,  are  yet  but  men,  are 
yet  in  the  flesh — this  sinful  flesh;  are  yet  under  the  motions 
of  sin,  and  liable  to  all  the  frailties  and  aberrations  inherent 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


45» 


to  our  common  Adamic  nature,  and  that  for  the  best  there 
is  no  entire  and  final  release  until  we  are  freed  from  this 
body.  Advancement,  indeed,  there  may  be  in  the  mighty 
conflidl  with  these  manifestations  and  powers  of  a  sinful 
nature;  glorious  vidories,  by  the  grace  of  God,  may  be 
gained  by  those  who  are  strong  "by  faith,"  with  "strength 
in  the  Lord  and  the  power  of  his  might"  "to  overcome 
the  world."  But  only  when  the  battle  of  life  is  ended, 
and  "mortality  is  swallowed  up  of  life,"  will  the  great  de- 
liverance come.  Especially  can  this  immunity  never  be 
the  lot  of  any  class  or  party,  however  pure  and  perfedl  its 
creed.  For  whatever  eminent  attainments  and  progress  in 
the  Divine  life  individuals  here  and  there  may  make,  and 
do  make,  such  attainments  are  never  true  in  a  like  degree 
of  entire  bodies  of  people^  representing  every  form  and  class 
of  humanity.  For  any  religious  people  to  claim  it,  is  a 
foolish  and  sinful  vanity,  that  reveals  an  ignorance  of  the 
Bible,  of  the  history  of  humanity  in  the  Church,  and  es- 
pecially of  themselves.  That  the  pure  dodlrine  of  Christ, 
so  rarely  understood  and  accepted,  and  an  earnest,  divinely- 
supported  effort  to  live  in  conformity  to  it,  give  us  the 
surest  and  greatest  triumphs  over  all  these  common  evil 
tendencies  of  a  fallen  nature,  is  a  truth  so  clear,  so  well 
accepted,  that  it  need  not  for  a  moment  be  questioned. 
Purity  of  dodlrine — of  creed,  if  you  choose — is  to  be  in- 
sisted on  for  this  very  reason,  with  "all  diligence,"  and 
is  not  for  a  moment  to  be  compromised  or  lightly  treated. 
It  is  an  essential  Divine  means  to  salvation  from  sin.  Let 
this  never  be  overlooked.  But — let  us  repeat  it — the  purest 
and  fullest  conception  of  Bible  truth  does  not  grant  to  us 
a  perfed  freedom  from  the  liability  to  these  evil  tenden- 
cies, as  it  does  not,  and  can  not,  grant  us  an  immunity 
from  sin.   "  If  we  say  we  have  no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves, 


452 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  This  is  a  solemn  saying. 
This  is  true  of  individuals;  how  much  more  of  whole 
bodies.    Let  every  Christian  man  ponder  it  well. 

In  diredl  application,  now,  to  the  subjedl  before  us,  we 
say  that  among  the  most  immediate  and  pernicious  of 
these  motions  of  sin — these  evil  tendencies — is  that  which, 
in  dired  opposition  to  God's  command,  leads  us  to  false 
objedts  of  "  glorying."  We  use  this  term  in  our  discus- 
sion in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  employed  by  Paul  in  our 
text,  denoting  that  to  which  we  give  the  supreme  devotion 
of  our  hearts,  and  which  is  the  highest  objedt  of  joy  and 
glory  to  us.  If  "glorying"  be  employed  in  any  weaker 
and  more  subordinate  sense,  it  is  not  that  which  Paul  here 
employs.  This  declaration  of  Paul  is  made  particularly 
and  diredtly  in  opposition  to  the  Judaizers  in  the  Gala- 
tian  churches,  who  "gloried  in  the  flesh."  "As  many  of 
them  as  desire  to  have  a  fair  show  in  the  flesh,  compel  you 
to  be  circumcised,  only  (for  the  purpose  only)  that  they 
might  not  suffer  persecution  for  the  Cross  of  Christ.  For 
neither  the  circumcised  themselves  keep  the  law,  but  de- 
sire you  to  be  circumcised  that  they  may  glory  in  your 
flesh.  But  for  me,"  (and  by  way  of  contrast — for  such  is 
the  literal  force  of  the  passage,)  "  God  forbid  that  /  should 
glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  which 
the  world  is  crucified  unto  me  and  I  unto  the  world." 
Observe  well  the  grand  reason  which  he  attaches — the 
power  of  the  Cross  to  emancipate  him  from  the  dominion 
of  the  world. 

We  look  at  this  question  only  as  it  relates  to  our  relig- 
ious and  spiritual  life,  and  as  it  affeds  and  is  illustrated 
in  the  Church  of  Christ.  With  the  history  of  the  ques- 
tion as  it  lies  outside  of  these  limits,  we  have,  at  present, 
nothing  to  do. 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


453 


The  great  significance  of  the  words  of  Paul  in  our  text 
is  fully  verified  in  the  entire  history  of  God's  people.  The 
endless  aberrations  from  primitive  truth,  from  the  law  and 
spirit  of  the  Gospel,  that  charadlerize  the  annals  of  the 
great  apostasy,  and  are  signalized  more  or  less  in  the  re- 
cords of  every  se6t  and  party,  are  largely  due  to  the  viola- 
tions of  the  great  law  of  Christian  life  here  announced  by 
Paul — to  glorying  in  false  objedts  of  devotion,  in  lesser 
objedls  than  the  Cross  of  Jesus  Christ;  so  robbing  our 
Lord  of  the  glory  due  only  to  him,  shutting  out  our  souls 
from  the  power  of  the  Cross,  and  thus  perverting  and 
debasing,  by  this  idolatry,  our  own  nature.  To  us,  espe- 
cially, who  are  laboring  for  a  repristination  of  the  Church 
after  the  pure  law  and  spirit  of  the  New  Testament,  it  is 
of  special  moment  to  study  well  the  charader  of  this  pro- 
lific source  of  evils  in  the  Church. 

The  limits  of  our  discourse  allow  us  to  speak  only  of 
some  of  the  chief  manifestations  of  this  "carnal  glorying." 
We  seleft  those  that  have  been  most  prominently  historic, 
and  whose  extended  evil  workings  are  obvious  to  all. 

"Let  no  man  glory  in  men,"  says  Paul.  Yet  (o  glory 
in  men  is  a  constant  tendency  of  our  corrupt  nature.  We 
speak  not  now  of  this  passion  of  hero-worship  outside  of 
the  Church,  that  has  made  men  make  demi-gods  of  their 
fellows,  and  has  led  millions  often  willingly  to  subjeft  their 
souls  in  base,  slavish  bondage,  to  the  dominion  of  their 
idols.  Every-where,  among  the  most  enlightened,  as 
among  the  most  degraded,  the  passion  of  men  for  this 
servile  idol-worship  is  seen.  But  it  were  well  if  such  a 
sinful  proneness  to  idolatry  had  been  limited  to  the  secu- 
lar world.  This  could  not,  however,  be  expedled.  It  is 
an  Adamic  sin,  inherent  to  the  human.  In  the  bosom  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  we  see  it  also  manifested,  and  that 


454 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


through  the  entire  course  of  its  history.  Let  us  consider 
it  for  a  moment  in  its  charadler  and  evil  workings. 

In  the  first  place,  is  positively  prohibited  by  the  Holy 
Spirit:  *'Let  no  man  glory  in  men."  To  do  so,  then,  is 
to  violate,  in  a  diredl  and  positive  way,  an  express  law  of 
God.  The  Holy  Spirit  would  not  so  severely  and  exclu- 
sively denounce  this  sin,  were  it  not  a  sin,  and  were  itseffeds 
not  pernicious  to  the  cause  of  God.  These  evil  efFefts  are 
manifold.  T'his  glorying  in  man  enslaves  the  minds  and  souls  of 
men.  It  clothes  the  very  objedls  of  this  hero-worship  with 
perfections  not  theirs,  and  hides  or  sandlifies  their  defefts 
and  errors.  It  makes  men  ready  willingly  to  receive  as  au- 
thoritative, the  opinions,  expositions  of  dodtrine,  and  spir- 
itual control  of  their  masters,  often  to  the  rejedion  of  the 
highest  and  most  salutary  truths.  It  enchains,  with  the 
ipse  dixit  of  the  master,  the  precious  liberty  with  which 
Christ  has  endowed  his  people.  This  liberty,  this  glorious 
gift  of  God,  permits  and  commands  us  to  push  our  inqui- 
ries, uncontrolled  but  by  the  limits  of  the  law  of  God,  on- 
ward and  onward  evermore,  into  the  infinite  treasures  of 
the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God,  and  so  to  satisfy  our 
souls*  hungering  and  thirsting  after  the  light  and  life,  the 
truth  and  love,  the  joys  and  the  glories,  of  Heaven.  But 
this  base  idolatry  confronts  us  perpetually  with  the  de- 
mands of  submission  to  the  law  of  the  master  s  attainments 
and  opinions,  commanding  abje6l  homage  to  these — mak- 
ing these  a  hitherto,  beyond  which  no  man  must  proudly 
venture;  thus  basely  seeking  to  enslave  the  noblest  inspi- 
rations and  aspirations  of  the  free  Christian  soul,  to  which 
it  has  been  awakened  by  the  freedom  with  which  Christ 
has  made  it  free,  to  the  finite,  the  human,  when  it  should 
bow  to  the  infinite,  the  unerring  Divine  alone.  This 
erring  human,  beset  as  it  is,  in  every  possible  case,  with 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


455 


weaknesses,  prejudices,  and  errors,  even  in  the  highest 
examples  of  wisdom,  of  knowledge,  and  piety,  can  never, 
must  never,  be  allowed  to  control  this  lofty  freedom  of 
the  Christian  soul — a  freedom,  the  glorious  consciousness 
of  which  is  a  supreme  joy  that  the  slave  can  never  feel, 
and  gives  the  soul  unwonted  strength  that  he  can  never 
know.  It  bears  it  upward,  as  upon  wings,  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  right^  and  of  a  sublime  energy  to  ascend  in  the 
pathway  of  truth.  This  grand  highway  of  the  Bible,  opened 
to  man,  to  lead  him  ever  onward,  and  ever  upward,  to  the 
throne  of  the  Eternal,  must  not  be  obstrudled  by  human 
idols,  made  so  by  foolish  men. 

Such  false  homage  to  the  human  debases  the  soul.  The 
freest  and  fullest  development  of  all  that  is  great  and  good, 
pure  and  lofty,  in  man,  is  possible  only  where  the  fullest 
freedom,  limited  only  by  the  sovereign  law  of  God,  is 
found.  But  to  subjeft  the  soul  to  the  human,  cripples  it 
in  its  strength,  cultivates  narrow-mindedness,  prejudice, 
and  the  love  of  ignorance.  It  also  inspires  a  spirit  of 
wicked  tyranny ;  for  none  are  such  tyrants  as  those  who  are 
willing  and  degraded  slaves  themselves.  To  see  this,  look 
but  for  a  moment  at  the  soul-and-mind-emasculated  Cath- 
olic, monkish  devotee,  who,  in  dark  and  vacant  spirit, 
crouches  before  his  superior,  in  the  abjedlness  of  his  slav- 
ery, spiritless  as  a  corpse — and  there  is  a  tool  of  tyranny, 
fearful  and  terrible,  as  he  is  ignorant  and  degraded. 

There  is  another  evil  effedl  that  this  "glorying  in 
men"  but  seldom  fails  to  produce  on  the  objefts  them- 
selves of  this  servility.  In  spite  of  all  the  better  prompt- 
ings of  wisdom  and  true  piety,  this  perpetual  praise  and 
adulation,  this  constant  incense-burning  and  submission 
before  them,  will  often  beget  in  them  an  extravagant,  false 
notion  of  their  wisdom,  their  knowledge,  power,  and  au- 


456 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


thority.  It  makes  them,  in  the  end,  expeft,  and  not  sel- 
dom demand^  the  homage  as  a  right  which  they  have  so  long 
been  accustomed  to  receive.  It  is  a  dangerous  and  evil 
thing  to  make  men  taste  the  power  of  authority,  so  sweet 
to  our  unfortunate  nature.  Be  not  surprised  at  this.  We 
are  all  but  men;  and  as  a  habitual  life  of  slavery  generally 
ends  in  making  really  a  slave  out  of  a  man^  so  also,  in  like 
manner,  a  long-enjoyed,  easily-yielded  homage  and  domin- 
ion, finally  begets  the  love  and  assertion  of  it. 

Finally,  this  "carnal  glorying  in  men" — an  error  undy- 
ing as  sin,  with  millenniums  on  its  brow — is  yet  vigorous 
for  evil,  in  its  Proteaij  shapes,  to-day  as  of  old  !  It  would 
have  made  the  Nazarene  prophet  a  king,  from  the  falsest 
of  motives,  entirely  ignorant  and  regardless  of  his  real 
character  as  the  true  Messiah.  It  made  fierce  assaults  on 
the  infant  Church  in  the  very  day  of  the  apostles,  and  with 
the  most  specious  pretenses.  One  gloried  in  Paul,  another 
in  Cephas,  another  in  Apollos.  It  has  made  man,  from 
age  to  age,  in  servile  abeyance  to  the  tyrannous  behests  of 
this  passion  of  slavery,  subdue  in  his  own  heart,  and  at- 
tempt to  subdue  in  the  hearts  of  others,  the  best  convic- 
tions of  truth  that,  in  a  loud  voice,  demanded  utterance 
for  God  and  humanity.  It  is  a  prolific  fountain  of  injustice 
to  men  often  the  purest  and  the  best,  and  is  the  origin 
of  strifes  and  ugly-hearted  fadions.  It  often  fastens  the 
chains  of  mental  and  spiritual  slavery  on  generations;  and, 
above  all,  turns  men  away  from  Christ,  to  "worship  the 
creature  rather  than  the  Creator!" 

Man  must  bow  to  God  alone  !  How  the  soul,  that 
hungers  and  thirsts  after  God  and  his  truth,  revolts  at 
these  base  attempts  of  weak  man  to  fetter  it  in  its  progress 
to  a  fuller  knowledge,  and  to  higher  enjoyments,  of  the 
blessed  Gospel  of  Christ! — these  attempts  to  awe  into 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


457 


silence  and  slavish,  creeping  fear  and  submission,  free  and 
noble  spirits,  by  the  idolatrous,  tyrannous  utterance  of 
other  names  than  God  and  his  Christ!  Let  the  soul  be 
early  taught  and  disciplined — especially  in  all  that  concerns 
its  religious  life,  in  all  that  concerns  its  relations  to  God — 
to  bow  in  deepest  homage  and  submission  only  to  the  Di- 
vine— never  to  the  human!  And  when  foolish  man  is  dis- 
posed thus  basely  to  bow  to  the  human,  even  in  its  highest 
perfections,  say  to  him:  "See  thou  do  it  not!  These  are 
but  thy  fellow-servants.    Bow  to  God  only." 

It  is  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  Word  of  God 
and  in  the  heart  of  every  regenerate  man,  to  thank  God 
for  the  men  who  have  been,  in  every  age,  his  true  chosen' 
servants  ;  to  esteem  them  highly  for  their  works'  sake, 
and  to  seek  to  emulate  their  eminent  examples.  He  that 
is  most  enlightened  by  the  law  and  Spirit  of  Christ,  and 
who  has  drunk  deepest  into  the  inspirations  of  the  words 
of  Paul  in  our  text,  will  feel  this  most,  and  do  this  best. 
Above  all  others,  will  he  rejoice  at  those  great  men  of 
God,  who,  foremost  in  the  ranks  of  God's  people,  "have 
fought  the  good  fight"  against  a  gainsaying,  apostate  gen- 
eration ;  and  who  have  boldly  taught  and  defended  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel;  called  men  back  to  the  pure  dodtrine 
and  life  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  who  will,  in  the 
eternal  world,  "shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  forever."  All 
this  it  is  our  joy  and  our  duty  to  do.  But  to  place  our 
souls  in  bondage  to  their  words;  to  "glory"  in  them;  to 
do  homage  to  them,  with  a  glorying  and  a  homage  due 
only  to  Christ  the  Crucified,  is  slavery,  idolatry,  and  sin. 

Another  form  of  false  devotion,  which  is  also  one  of 
these  common  tendencies  of  our  sinful  nature,  is  to  glory  in 
party.  This  sed  devotion,  this  selfish  party  pride  and 
bigotry,  is  one  of  the  rifest  vices  all  over  Christendom, 


458 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


and  deserves  to  be  especially  noted  in  its  evil  influences. 
//  keeps  our  eyes  blinded  to  our  own  defeats,  in  do5irine,  faith^ 
and  life.  '■^  Our  views,  our  faith,  our  condud:,"  as  a  party, 
must  be  justified,  as  they  now  are.  No  man  must  raise 
even  a  doubt,  or  suggest  any  improvement  or  progress. 
If  any  one  among  us  does  not  so  "glory,"  and  burn  per- 
petual incense,  as  we  do,  to  this  party  idolatry,  let  him  be 
marked  as  false,  and  be  denounced  at  once ;  shake  the 
party  lash  over  him  ;  conjure  up  before  him  the  fearful 
phantoms  of  party  vengeance.  This  evil  spirit  dooms 
a  people  to  narrowness,  stuntedness,  weakness — to  all  the 
fatal  effedls  of  mental  and  spiritual  slavery.  And  among 
every  people  there  are  always,  in  abundance,  these  devotees 
to  mere  party,  and  they  are  always  among  the  greatest 
human  enemies  religion  has.  It  requires  the  least  mind, 
the  least  intelligence,  piety,  and  goodness,  to  be  such  a 
poor  se6tary. 

//  prevents  us  from  looking  in  the  proper  light  at  our  fellow- 
beings.  We  can  not,  with  this  bad  spirit,  do  justice  to 
them.  It  fills  us  with  the  evil  passions  of  jealousy  and 
hate  toward  men  that  "  are  not  of  us,"  and  makes  us  com- 
mit endless  wrongs  against  them,  and  sin  against  God, 
and  against  the  Spirit  of  the  Gospel.  //  makes  men  indifferent 
to  the  means  adopted  to  advance  the  party.  The  mere  sec- 
tary glories  in  numbers,  in  numerical  predominance,  in 
ecclesiastical,  triumphant  superiority  ;  and,  as  the  motive 
and  the  end  are  purely  carnal,  so  the  means  adopted  must 
necessarily  be  chiefly  so.  All  is  justified  that  advances 
"our  Church;"  all  is  denounced  that  opposes  it.  It  is 
not  a  chief  matter  to  the  sedary  to  have  souls  converted 
to  Christ,  saved,  and  purified,  redeemed  from  the  world, 
and  fitted  for  heaven.  His  highest  aim  and  glory  is  in 
the  outward  triumph  of  seeing  men  join  his  Church.  All 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


459 


his  ambition  is  utterly  carnal.  Yet  all  this  time  this  poor, 
blinded  vidim  of  this  carnal  passion  imagines  that  he  is 
fighting  for  God,  and  "for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints;"  and  it  is  often  beyond  the  power  of  God  and  man 
to  make  him  see  his  error. 

But,  above  all,  it  keeps  us  from  Christ,  and  makes  us  sin 
against  him;  for,  this  false  obje6t  of  our  pride,  this  evil 
spirit  toward  mankind  which  it  inspires,  this  blindness  to 
our  own  defeds  and  sins,  and  the  general  self-righteous- 
ness it  begets  and  nourishes — all  prevent  us  from  know- 
ing and  feeling  the  need,  the  obje£t,  the  power  and  bless- 
ings of  the  Cross  of  Christ,  which  ever  reveals  to  us  our 
own  imperfedlions  and  sinfulness,  calls  us  to  love  God 
and  man,  and  teaches  us  that  a  ''''new  creature"  alone  avails 
before  God. 

The  devotion  to  Christ  and  his  Cross,  expressed  in  the 
text,  alone  will  save  us  from  this  debased  form  of  idola- 
trous glorying.  Let  us  beware  of  this  fatal  error,  so  de- 
lusive in  appearance,  but  whose  real  form  and  life  have 
ever  been  so  ugly  and  repulsive,  and  whose  ripe  fruits  so 
destrudlive  to  the  true  interests  of  the  cause  of  Christ. 
Wide  and  fearful  has  been  its  power  over  the  souls  of  men, 
and  very  stubborn  its  life  and  endurance.  And  let  us  re- 
member— and  this  especially  for  our  own  sakes,  that  it  is 
a  human,  Adamic  sin,  having  its  origin  and  home  in  our 
common  nature;  and,  therefore,  let  us  be  wisely  and  jeal- 
ously on  our  guard,  lest  we  also  be  tempted  and  led  away 
after  the  same  manner  of  sin. 

We  must  not  mistake  this  unhallowed  party  bigotry  for 
the  pure  love  and  devotion  due  from  every  true  Christian 
to  his  brethren  and  the  Church  and  cause  of  Christ,  The 
partisan  glories  only  in  external  prosperity;  but  the  true 
child  of  God  in  that  which  is  real,  the  spiritual  prosperity 


460 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  the  Church.  His  great  joy  is  to  lead  men  to  Christ, 
to  see  his  brethren  become  daily  wiser  and  better,  "grow- 
ing in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Savior 
Jesus  Christ."  To  this  end  he  prays  and  labors  that  they 
may  see  their  imperfedlions  and  sins;  that  these  may  be 
remedied  and  put  away,  and  the  Church  put  on  her  beau- 
tiful garments  of  truth,  holiness,  and  love,  and,  in  the 
strength  of  the  Lord,  go  forth  to  conquer,  "fair  as  the 
moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  ban- 
ners." 

Again :  let  not  an  ill-natured,  hateful,  carping  fault-find- 
ing, that  is  devoid  of  all  love  and  hope,  and  of  all  attach- 
ment to  God's  people;  an  all-despising,  evil-speaking 
against  the  Church,  be  mistaken  for  a  pure  purpose  to 
see  and  corredl  the  errors  in  our  midst,  that  God  may  be 
glorified  among  us.  Paul,  however  clear  his  eye,  and  ready 
and  bold  his  voice,  to  see,  rebuke,  and  corre6t  the  defeats 
and  sins  of  the  brethren  and  churches,  yet  always  revealed 
the  fidelity  and  nobility  of  his  heart  in  a  generous  ap- 
preciation and  love  of  God's  people.  This  we  demand 
in  every  man  among  us ;  and  the  censor  that  does  not  show 
these  noble  qualities  must  exped  a  just  and  prompt  rejec- 
tion of  his  censorship. 

Another  common  evil  tendency  is  to  glory  in  doStrines.  This 
very  ready  error  is  to  be  found  boldly  on  the  surface  every- 
where throughout  the  whole  history  of  the  Church.  It  is, 
indeed,  one  of  the  most  common  of  the  unfortunate  aber- 
rations of  the  human  mind  manifested  in  Christian  history. 
Men  very  early,  in  the  first  years  of  the  Church,  began 
to  grow  in  very  devoted  love  with  favorite  do6lrines,  and 
mistook  thus,  altogether,  the  true  object  proposed  in  our 
religion,  of  our  faith  and  our  love,  our  trust,  joy,  and 
glorying.    //  is  substituting  the  means  and  the  statement  of 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


461 


the  obje£ly  for  the  final  obje^  itself  to  be  reached  by  these  means. 
This  tendency  shot  into  revolting,  desolating  maturity  in 
one  form  in  ancient  Gnosticism.  It  makes  men  single  out 
some  dodlrine  or  dogma  as  the  objeft  of  their  blind,  idol- 
atrous adoration  and  apostate  glorying.  We  truly  call  it 
idolatry  and  apostasy;  for  men's  hearts,  by  it,  stray  away 
from  Him  as  the  only  true  objed  of  our  devotion.  //  makes 
the  heart  vain,  intolerant ,  and  impious.  How  often  do  we 
see  men  rudely,  and  almost  impiously,  carry  on  a  carnal 
warfare  among  men,  not  out  of  love  to  Christ  and  human- 
ity, not  glorying  and  rejoicing,  like  Paul,  in  a  crucified 
Redeemer,  but  in  a  doctrine,  having  nothing  but  this  doc- 
trine and  its  triumphs  in  their  eyes  and  hearts.  These 
men  only  aim  to  convert  men  to  their  doftrines,  and  not 
to  Christ.  With  them  the  favorite  do6trine,  and  not 
Christ,  is  the  first  and  the  last,  the  alpha  and  the  omega, 
the  beginning  and  the  end;  that  which  was,  and  is,  and  is 
to  come  for  evermore.  The  salvation  of  souls,  the  rescuing 
of  men  from  sin,  as  brands  from  the  eternal  burning;  the 
preparing  of  the  spirits  of  men  for  the  eternal  holiness  of 
heaven;  the  love  of  God  and  men  in  Christ,  that  "con- 
strains" men  to  the  glorious  work  of  the  Gospel — all  these 
are  things  to  which  these  doftrine-idolaters  are  strangers. 
Therefore,  also,  it  is  not  seldom  the  case  that  when  their 
glorying  in  do6trines  has  burnt  out  its  earth-born  flame, 
their  faith,  their  joy,  and  hopes  are  at  an  end,  and  their  de- 
votion and  labors  are  over.  With  the  novelty  of  the  doc- 
trine, which  was  their  only  source  of  life  and  inspiration, 
their  zeal,  too,  passed  away.  That  deep,  exhaustless  fount- 
ain of  everlasting  life  and  power  which  is  found  only  in 
Christ,  they  knew  not,  and  had  never  drunk  from.  Such  men 
are  those  mere  creed-devotees,  who  often,  for  their  creeds, 
written  or  unwritten,  long  or  short,  will  hate  and  lie,  cal- 


462 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


umniate  and  scandalize,  crucify  and  burn,  all  the  time  far 
away  from  Christ,  his  truth  and  his  love.  See,  for  exam- 
ple, those  two  men  in  the  pulpit,  in  discussion.  Observe  * 
in  their  eyes,  and  on  their  lips,  the  play  of  every  carnal 
passion ;  note  the  low  trickeries,  the  vulgar  legerdemain, 
the  shallow  and  dishonorable  fallacies,  the  unmanly  ins'in- 
uations  against  each  other,  the  debasing  appeals  to  party 
prejudices  and  hatreds — all  so  gross  and  revolting  that  the 
generous  soul  turns  away  with  loathing  and  sorrow.  And 
what,  think  you,  are  these  two  gladiators  debating  about? 
Do  not  be  startled;  they  are  vigorously  discussing  the 
question.  How  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  in  the  conversion  and 
san^lification  of  men! — and  both  these  valiant  do6lrine-de- 
fenders  utter  strangers  to  the  Spirit  of  God  and  its  blessed 
influence ! 

Dodlrines  do  not  save  us;  we  are  saved  by  Christ.  Doc- 
trines do  not  cleanse  us  from  our  sins;  it  is  the  efficacious 
blood  of  Christ.  We  are  not  converted  to  dodlrines,  but 
to  God.  We  do  not  believe  in  dodlrines,  but  in  Christ. 
We  are  not  baptized  into  them,  but  into  Christ.  We  do 
not  hope  in  them,  trust  in  them,  glory  in  them,  but  in 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord. 

He  that  makes  a  dodtrine  the  objedt  and  end  of  his 
glorying  errs,  whether  that  dodlrine  be  true  or  false.  But 
it  is  the  testimony  of  all  experience,  and  a  logical  result, 
that  such  glorying  soon  perverts  and  corrupts  a  true  doc- 
trine into  a  false  one.  We  say.  Give  up  not  one  jot  or 
tittle  of  heaven's  holy  truth.  Contend  earnestly  for  it. 
Make  ever  a  broad,  impassable  distinction  between  the 
truths  of  the  Bible  and  human  errors.  But  remember, 
all  these  Divine  lights  are  only  designed  to  illuminate  your 
pathway  to  Christ  and  his  Cross;  they  are  but  the  Divine 
forces  to  bring  you  to  him.    Reserve  the  worship  and 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


463 


glorying  of  your  redeemed,  joyful  soul  for  him  alone, 
as  the  End  of  all.  Rest  not  with  the  dodrine;  bow  not 
before  it.  Never  stand  still  till  you  have  arrived  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus  on  the  Cross;  and  thence,  by  the  power  of 
the  Cross,  press  forward  to  the  eternal  throne  of  Him  who 
is  the  "King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords." 

And  there  is  yet  another  prominent  form  of  this  carnal 
glorying,  another  one  of  these  common  tendencies  of  a  sinful 
nature,  and  than  which  none  is  more  fatal  to  the  spiritual 
life  in  the  individual  Christian  man,  or  to  the  general 
cause  of  Christ  on  earth.  It  is  that  which  glories  in  hu- 
man reason\  that  "enemy  of  Christ  and  all  righteousness," 
denominated,  in  modern  days,  Rationalism.  It  sets  up  in 
Religion,  in  the  Bible,  and  in  the  Church,  human  reason 
as  the  sovereign  monarch,  as  the  human  idol  before  whom 
all  must  bow,  "  of  things  in  heaven,  in  the  earth,  and  under 
the  earth,"  of  things  in  time  and  in  eternity.  Proudly 
it  has  sought  to  enthrone  itself  in  the  temple  of  God, 
showing  itself  that  it  is  God."  (2  Thess.  ii:  4.)  Before 
its  sovereign  didlates  and  decisions  all  things  must  give 
way.  In  the  interpretation  of  the  Word  of  God,  all  things 
that  are  not  in  harmony  with  its  carnal  wisdom  must  be 
branded  as  false,  and  blotted  out.  Nothing  so  sacred, 
nothing  so  awfully  Divine,  nothing  so  dire6l  and  plain  in 
the  words  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  its  impious,  destruc- 
tive criticism,  its  proud  human  judgment  can.  not  degrade, 
dishonor,  and  rob  of  all  its  sacredness,  its  Divine  power, 
and  drag  down  to  its  own  low  conceptions  of  truth  and 
reasonableness.  It  is,  by  way  of  pre-eminence,  the  power 
of  impiety.  It  is,  historically,  in  the  diredest  manner,  of 
Satanic  origin,  having  the  spirit  of  the  pride  of  the  fallen 
archangel  as  its  essential  life.  It  was  the  inspiration  and 
burden  of  the  first  temptation.    "God  alone  is  not  the 


464 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


supreme,  sovereign  judge  of  right  and  wrong,  of  'good 
and  evil.'  You  yourselves,  as  men,  have  within  yourselves 
this  sovereign  wisdom.  You  yourselves,  as  tnen,  can  'be  as 
gods,'  knowing  good  and  evil;  and  what  God  has  said, 
you  must  interpret  in  harmony  with  your  reason,  and  the 
dilates  of  your  lusts,  even  if  it  be  to  the  exaft  inversion 
of  his  words."  Such  was  the  burden  of  the  tempter's 
words,  and  such  has  ever  been,  in  essence,  in  spirit,  and 
often  in  exadl  form,  the  voice  of  this  Rationalism. 

Its  voice  is  that  of  the  siren,  flattering  to  the  easily- 
deluded  ear  of  man.  Its  approaching  step  is  covert  and 
stealthy,  as  of  the  serpent,  its  prototype  in  Eden.  Its 
p*urpose  is  concealed,  but  deadly.  The  fruit  it  offers  to 
human  taste  is  "fair  to  behold,"  and  pleasant  to  the  car- 
nal, sinful  appetite.  Woe  to  him  that  heeds  not  the  voice 
of  warning;  that  makes  not  God,  and  his  direft  word,  in 
its  plain,  obvious  meaning,  his  defense,  as  did  Christ  in 
his  temptation !  Woe  to  him  who,  with  evil  lust,  tastes 
of  the  fatal  fruit !  It  will  turn  to  gall  and  wormwood 
within  him,  and  kill  off  the  life  of  Christ  in  his  soul. 

Of  the  terribly  destrudtive  history  of  Rationalism  with- 
.n  the  last  century  it  is  not  our  purpose  here  to  speak. 
It  is  not  necessary.  This  history  is  now  read,  and  known, 
and  acknowledged  of  all  men.  We  stop  only  to  note,  as 
precisely  in  place  here,  one  important  and  most  significant 
fa6t  in  the  history  of  Rationalism.  And  that  is,  its  fierce  en- 
mity to  the  Cross  of  Christ.  This  has  been  the  special  point 
of  its  most  violent  and  most  incessant  attacks.  All  that 
characterizes  the  Cross ;  all  that  belongs  to  its  history  and 
significance — the  hopeless  sinfulness  and  depravity  of  man ; 
the  perfed  Godhood  of  Jesus  Christ;  the  true  charader  of 
sin;  the  Biblical  dodlrine  of  the  motive  and  of  the  neces- 
sity and  purpos  of  the  atonem  nt; — all  this,  that  together 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


465 


constitutes  the  dodlrine  of  the  Cross,  and  alone  gives  it 
its  meaning  and  power,  has  been,  and  is  now,  the  obje6t  of 
especial  offense  to  the  spirit  of  Rationalism.  As  it  was  to 
the  Jews  and  to  the  Greeks  of  old,  an  offense  and  a  fool- 
ishness, so  it  is  to  this  spirit  of  proud  glorying  in  human 
reason  to-day.  Nothing  in  all  the  history  of  the  Church, 
not  the  Pope  himself,  has  set  itself  more  proudly  in  op- 
position to  God  and  his  Word,  in  the  very  bosom  of  the 
Church  itself,  than  this  proud  idolatry  of  Reason.  But 
as  of  old,  so  now  Paul  would  say,  that  "What  to  it,  and  to 
them  that  perish,  is  a  stumbling-stone  and  foolishness,  is 
to  him,  and  to  all  that  truly  believe  and  are  saved,  the 
power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God."  And  what  they 
despise,  is  to  him  the  one  chief  objedt  of  glorying. 

But  will  our  denouncing  these  errors  be  a  sufficient  guar- 
antee against  our  falling  into  them  ?  By  no  means.  It  is 
the  singular  blindness  that  accompanies  these  common  errors 
that  they  often  who  are  loudest  in  their  denunciation,  are 
the  first  to  run  the  deepest  into  them.  So  the  apostle 
speaks  of  those  boasting  of  and  promising  liberty,  who 
are  themselves,  all  the  while,  the  meanest  slaves  of  the 
basest  passions.  The  Quaker,  while  solemnly  denouncing 
the  vanity  and  obsoleteness  of  all  external  forms,  is,  for 
generations,  notoriously  and  servilely  in  bondage  to  the 
very  cut  and  color  of  his  garments,  the  shape  of  his  hat, 
and  the  obsolete  forms  of  his  speech,  so  that  he  can  be 
easily  discerned,  even  from  afar,  by  his  "outward  appear- 
ance." The  deluded  or  depraved  vidlims  of  the  spiritual- 
ism of  our  land  and  of  our  day,  have,  long  since,  demon- 
strated to  ail  that  their  pretension  to  the  spiritual  is  only 
an  excuse  and  a  cloak  for  a  swifter  and  more  immediate  de- 
scent to  the  vilest  carnality.  And  so  in  other  cases  in- 
numerable. 

30 


466 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Mistaking  the  denunciation  of  an  error  for  freedom  from 
it,  is  one  of  the  most  every-day  fads  and  follies  of  human 
life.  Let  us  not  forget  this.  The  closest  and  most  can  ■ 
did  self-scrutinizing;  the  most  earnest  and  constant  appeals 
for  Divine  aid;  and  the  fullest  acceptation  and  realization 
in  all  our  soul  of  the  words  of  our  text,  accompanied  by 
a  never-ceasing  watchfulness  over  ourselves,  alone  will 
save  us  from  these  and  other  like  fatal  errors. 

Christ  alone  is  the  light  and  life  of  men;  therefore,  to 
them  to  whom  he  is  not,  as  in  our  text  symbolically 
represented,  the  only  source  of  light  and  life  in  religion, 
this  religion  is  only  a  cold  world  of  darkness  and  death. 
Falsest  of  false,  a  vanity  of  vanities,  a  bitterest  deception, 
that  blots  out  the  celestial  glories,  and  tears  out  the  life- 
giving,  life-disseminating  heart  of  the  Gospel  of  our  re- 
demption— is  every  pretense  of  Christianity,  however  fair 
its  voice  and  carnally  attraftive  its  form,  in  which  Christ 
the  crucified  is  not  the  sole  joy,  strength,  and  glory,  the 
beginning  and  the  end,  the  first  and  the  last ! 

And  let  us  not  be  misunderstood  as  to  what  we  mean 
by  "the  Cross,"  by  "Christ  the  crucified;"  for  here  again, 
as  every-where  else,  fatal  errors  are  made.  Do  we  mean 
by  it  only,  or  chiefly,  a  noble  example  of  life  and  death 
given  to  humanity;  one  who,  by  his  pure  life,  his  teaching 
of  sublime,  heavenly  wisdom,  and  his  martyr  sufferings,  is 
worthy  of  the  highest  admiration,  the  most  ardent  love,  and 
the  most  generous  emulation  of  men,  and  that  saves  men 
by  his  example  of  life  and  death,  and  the  inspirations  it  af- 
fords? Is  this  the  sum  and  burden  of  our  joy,  our  glory- 
ing, and  our  hope }  No  !  a  thousand  times,  no  !  None  of 
these  cheating  acceptations  of  Christ,  that  rob  him  of  his 
chief  glory,  and  us  of  our  chief  joy  and  hope — is  what 
Paul  means,  and  what  we  rejoice  in,  though  never  so  beau- 


C.  L.  LOOS. 


467 


tifully  and  delusively  expressed.  It  is  Christ  the  cruci- 
fied, as  the  God-man,  the  Savior  of  men,  "the  Lamb  slain 
from  the  beginning,"  who  shed  his  atoning,  expiating,  sac- 
rificial blood  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  as  the  only  price  that 
purchased  our  redemption,  and  thus  to  man  the  only  hope 
in  life  and  death.  With  the  proud,  Christ-degrading  ne- 
gations of  Unitarianism,  in  every  possible  shape  and  form, 
from  that  highest  type  of  ancient  Arianism  to  that  lowest 
of  modern  Socinianism,  the  words  of  Paul,  in  our  text, 
and  our  acceptation  of  it  as  our  joy  and  confidence  in  its 
teaching  and  spirit,  are  forever  utterly  irreconcilable. 

Let  this  Divine  and  blessed  Redeemer — as  we  see  him 
and  hear  him  on  earth,  "  going  about  every-where  doing 
good,"  by  his  heavenly  teaching  and  his  heavenly  works 
of  love  and  power;  as  we  behold  him  on  the  Cross,  suffer- 
ing for  a  sinful  world;  and  as  we  see  him  in  heaven  tri- 
umphant— ever  be  our  only  joy,  honor,  strength,  and 
hope,  our  exceeding  great  reward,  our  present  and  ever- 
lasting glory.  And  may  this  holy  and  single  devotion  to 
him,  filling  all  our  soul,  be  the  star  of  our  life,  to  guide 
us,  finally,  to  his  own  eternal  dwelling-place  in  the  Father's 
presence,  "where  there  is  fullness  of  joy,  and  to  his  right 
hand,  where  there  are  pleasures  for  evermore." 

"God  forbid  that  our  souls  should  ever  glory,  save  in 
the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  which  alone  the 
world  is  crucified  to  us,  and  we  to  the  world!"  Amen. 


\ 


i 
i 

i 

i 


1 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


A  MONG  the  preachers  and  writers  of  the  nineteenth  century  who  have 
■^"^  plead  for  a  return  to  primitive  Christianity,  the  subjeft  of  this  notice 
stands  pre-eminently  among  the  most  distinguished.  For  more  than  thirty- 
five  years  he  has  been  connefted  with  the  Disciples,  and,  during  the  greater 
portion  of  that  time,  has  been  an  earnest,  able,  and  successful  advocate  of 
their  plea  for  reformation. 

Isaac  Errett  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  January  2,  1820. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Arklow,  county  of  Wicklow,  Ireland,  and  his 
mother  was  a  native  of  Portsmouth,  England.  His  paternal  grandfather 
was  shot  down  in  sight  of  his  own  house  during  the  Irish  rebellion  of 
1798.  His  immediate  parents  were  both  of  Protestant  families,  and  be- 
came identified  with  the  Disciples  in  New  York  City  as  early  as  181 1  — 
the  father  being  an  elder  in  the  original  Church  in  that  place.  Hence,  the 
son  was  trained  from  infancy  in  the  principles  which  he  now  cherishes, 
and,  in  the  spring  of  1832,  at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania — where  his  mother 
had  moved  soon  after  the  death  of  his  father,  who  died  in  1825 — when 
only  a  little  over  twelve  years  of  age,  at  a  time  when  the  Church  was  with- 
out preaching,  under  the  instruftion  of  his  mother,  he,  in  company  with 
an  older  brother,  went  forward  and  asked  the  privilege  of  baptism.  He 
was  baptized  by  Robert  McLaren,  one  of  the  elders  of  the  Church. 

He  now  became  a  diligent  student  of  the  Word  of  God,  and,  under  many 
embarrassing  circumstances,  made  constant  and  encouraging  progress.  From 
the  time  he  was  ten  years  old,  he  has  been  dependent  upon  his  own  personal 
exertions  for  a  living;  hence,  his  respeftable  education  has  been  gathered, 
in  the  midst  of  toil  and  care,  by  dint  of  untiring,  industrious  application. 
While  laboring  as  farmer,  miller,  lumberman,  bookseller,  printer,  school- 
teacher, and  editor,  he  has  never  ceased  to  augment  his  stock  of  useful 
knowledge,  and  to  use  whatever  opportunities  he  had  for  the  develop- 
ment and  discipline  of  his  mental  powers. 

He  commenced  preaching  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  in 
the  spring  of  1840,  and  soon  gave  promise  of  the  distinguished  position 
which  he  has  since  held  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.     He  enjoyed  the 


470 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


advantages  of  frequent  and  intimate  association  with  Walter  Scott, 
Thomas  Campbell,  Alexander  Campbell,  and  most  of  the  early  advo- 
cates of  primitive  Christianity  in  the  West;  and  his  association  with  these 
men  was  of  incalculable  advantage  to  him,  for  they  not  only  gave  him  val- 
uable instruftion  in  the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  but  he  was  enabled, 
by  coming  in  frequent  contafl  with  them,  to  draw  inspiration  from  their 
lives  and  charadlers  for  the  great  work  upon  which  he  had  entered. 

His  ministerial  labors  have  been  divided  between  the  work  of  an  evan- 
gelist and  pastor.  He  was  pastor  of  a  church  in  Pittsburgh  three  years; 
New  Lisbon,  Ohio,  five  years;  North  Bloomfield,  Ohio,  two  years;  War- 
ren, Ohio,  five  years;  Muir  and  Ionia,  Michigan,  eight  years;  and  De- 
troit, Michigan,  two  years.  At  all  these  points  he  was  eminently  suc- 
cessful, and,  besides  his  regular  pastoral  labors,  did  considerable  work  in 
the  general  field.  He  removed  to  Warren,  Ohio,  in  1851,  and,  while 
there,  was  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Ohio  Missionary  Society  three 
years ;  and  it  was  he  who  first  put  that  society  into  systematic  and  aftive 
operation.  In  1856,  he  removed  his  family  to  Ionia  County,  Michigan, 
and,  while  laboring  to  build  up  a  congregation  at  that  point,  he  was  pre- 
vailed upon  to  take  the  Corresponding  Secretaryship  of  the  American 
Christian  Missionary  Society,  which  position  he  held  three  years,  and 
succeeded  in  bringing  the  society  to  a  degree  of  prosperity  which  it  had 
never  before  reached.  When  he  resigned  the  Secretaryship,  he  was  ap- 
pointed first  Vice-President,  and  afterward  presided  at  the  annual  meet- 
ings of  the  Society  until  1866,  when  he  was  eledled  President.  This, 
however,  he  at  once  declined.  In  the  spring  of  1866  he  removed  to 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  no%v  resides,  and  edits  the  "  Christian  Stan- 
dard," a  religious  weekly  published  in  that  city. 

Brother  Errett's  personal  appearance  is  striking  and  prepossessing.  He 
is  about  six  feet  one  inch  high,  has  dark  auburn  hair,  light  gray  eyes,  and  a 
well-developed  muscular  organization.  As  a  public  speaker,  he  has  few, 
if  any,  superiors.  His  language  is  chaste  and  copious,  containing  an  unusu- 
ally large  per  cent,  of  Saxon  words;  his  gesticulation  easy  and  natural,  but 
his  voice,  though  well  under  control,  has  not  volume  enough  to  give  full 
force  to  his  beautiful  and  stirring  thoughts.  His  writings,  like  his  ser- 
mons, are  full  of  strong  and  rugged  points,  and  are  frequently  interspersed 
with  brilliant  passages  of  exquisite  beauty  that  will  compare  favorably  with 
many  of  the  finest  word-paintings  in  the  English  language. 

In  the  social  circle  he  is  companionable,  but  not  a  very  good  conversa- 
tionalist. He  needs  the  inspiration  of  an  audience,  or  the  quiet  solitude 
of  the  study,  to  bring  out  his  full  strength ;  hence,  while  he  is  pleasant  in 
company — full  of  wit  and  humor — he  does  not  appear  there  to  the  best 
advantage. 


THE   LAW   OF  PROGRESSIVE 
DEVELOPMENT. 


BY  ISAAC  ERRETT. 


"And  he  said.  So  is  the  Kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a  man  should  cast  seed 
into  the  ground,  and  should  sleep  and  rise,  night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should 
spring  and  grow  up,  he  knoweth  not  how.  For  the  earth  bringeth  forth 
fruit  of  herself;  first,  the  blade;  then  the  ear:  after  that,  the  full  corn  in  the 
ear.  But  when  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately  he  putteth  in  the  sickle, 
because  the  harvest  is  come." — Mark  iv  :  26-29. 

THE  Law  of  Progressive  Development  is  operative 
alike  in  nature  and  in  grace.  I  have  no  confidence 
in  the  development  theory  which  seeks  to  trace  up  all  the 
forms  of  animated  nature  from  monads,  by  regular  devel- 
opment or  spontaneous  generation,  and  even  to  give  the 
history  of  worlds  and  universes  of  matter,  from  a  nebulous 
infancy  through  a  patient  growth  into  the  solar  and  stellar 
magnificences  that  now  gem  the  heavens.  This  stupen- 
dous effort  to  banish  a  personal  Creator  and  to  subdue  all 
things — even  the  workings  of  mind,  the  movements  of 
nations,  and  all  historical  developments,  to  the  operation 
of  blind  and  resistless  forces  of  materialism,  is  at  war  with 
the  fundamental  idea  of  a  Divine  revelation,  and  can  have 
no  sympathy  where  faith  rests  in  a  Divine  Creator,  who 
spake,  and  it  was  done;  who  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast. 
Yet  the  fad  that  such  a  theory  commands  the  advocacy  of 

(471) 


472 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


distinguished  and  honored  names  in  science  and  literature, 
shows  that  there  is  a  sufficient  groundwork  of  fafts  to  in- 
vest it  with  plausibility.  What  geology  has  unfolded  of 
a  sublime  series  of  creations  and  destructions  in  the  history 
of  our  earth,  and  the  just  analogies  of  nature,  which  pro- 
ceed from  this  starting  point,  render  it  probable  that  this 
law  of  progressive  development  pervades  the  universe. 
However  this  may  be,  we  are  certain  in  regard  to  its  op- 
eration in  and  on  our  own  globe,  in  the  realms  of  matter 
and  of  mind.  Life  is  growth,  development,  from  a  germ 
of  existence  through  successive  stages  of  infancy,  child- 
hood, youth,  to  manhood's  perfediion:  "first  the  blade, 
then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  And  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  in  the  text,  is  likened  to  this;  thus 
teaching  us  that  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  grace  are  an- 
alogous to  those  of  the  kingdom  of  nature ;  that  religion 
does  not  outrage  the  established  laws  of  matter  or  of  mind; 
that  the  volumes  of  nature  and  revelation  are  from  the 
same  author,  in  the  same  handwriting;  and  that  the  same 
principles  of  rational  investigation,  which  we  carry  with  us 
in  the  interpretation  of  the  former,  are  equally  legitimate 
and  necessary  in  the  interpretation  of  the  latter. 

It  has  long  been  a  mischievous  delusion  that  the  opera- 
tions of  grace  are,  if  not  lawless,  at  least  out  of  sympathy 
and  out  of  harmony  with  the  known  laws  of  mind;  that 
religion  is  not  a  science  to  be  learned,  or  a  life  to  be  de- 
veloped; that  religious  faith  has  nothing  in  common  with 
other  faith;  that  religious  peace  and  happiness  ignore  all 
the  established  conditions  of  peace  and  happiness;  that  a 
touch  of  magic  or  of  miracle  flashes  light  on  the  mind, 
peace  on  the  conscience,  and  joy  on  the  soul ;  and  that,  like 
Minerva  from  the  head  of  Jupiter,  the  child  of  God  springs 
from  the  bosom  of  the  supernatural,  full-armed,  into  life. 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


473 


It  may  be  well,  therefore,  to  examine  the  law  of  prog- 
ress announced  in  the  text,  and,  in  its  light,  obtain  more 
satisfadtory  and  profitable  views  of  the  ways  of  God  to 
man.    We  propose  to  examine  the  operations  of  this  law 

I.  In  the  Gradual  Unfolding  of  the  Purpose  of 
God  in  the  Plan  of  Redemption. 

II.  In  the  Development  of  Individual  Life  and 
Character. 

III.  Inthe  Historical  Developmentofthe  Church. 

Our  purpose  in  this  is  not  a  complete  elaboration  of  our 
theme — for  this  the  limits  of  a  sermon  will  not  allow — but 
to  furnish  such  outlines  and  landmarks  as  will  enable  the 
reader  to  pursue  the  investigation  for  himself ;  giving  him 
such  an  insight  into  some  of  the  laws  and  methods  of  the 
Div^ine  government  as  will  assist  him  more  intelligently  to 
survey,  and  more  rationally  to  enjoy,  the  salvation  of  God. 

I.  The  Gradual  Unfolding  of  the  Purpose  of  God 
IN  the  Plan  of  Redemption. 

It  has  been  with  unbelievers  a  standing  objedion  to  the 
plan  of  salvation,  and  a  source  of  embarrassment  to  many 
believers  also,  that  the  fullness  of  the  Gospel  was  not  com- 
municated immediately  on  the  fall  of  man.  "Why,"  they 
ask,  "must  four  thousand  years  elapse  before  the  Savior 
appears?  Why,  for  two  thousand  years  must  the  favor  of 
God  be  confined  to  a  single  family  and  nation,  while  all 
the  rest  of  mankind  are  left  to  perish  in  their  sins  ? "  And 
why,  we  ask  in  return,  does  this  law  of  progressive  develop- 
ment obtain  at  all?  Why  must  man  begin  in  puling  in- 
fancy, and  grow  into  manhood,  slowly  developing  not  only 
his  physical  frame,  but  his  mental  and  moral  charafteristics 
likewise?  .  Why  is  not  knowledge  flashed  instantaneously 


4-74 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


into  the  mind,  rather  than  left  to  be  acquired  slowly  and 
painfully  through  a  thousand  struggles  and  repeated  fail- 
ures ?  Why  must  we  have  toys  for  infancy,  and  obje6t-les- 
sons  for  childhood,  and  carry  the  learner  patiently  through 
elementary  instructions  before  he  can  grasp  broad  generali- 
zations, or  master  the  mysteries  of  any  science?  Why  do 
nations  grow,  and  ages  move  in  cycles  ?  Why  did  nations, 
without  a  revelation  from  God,  struggle  so  long  in  vain 
with  the  problems  of  duty  and  destiny?  At  the  very  time 
when  this  objeftion  was  most  loudly  urged,  unbelievers 
were  looking  to  geology,  to  find  such  revelations  in  the 
stone-book  as  would  forever«silence  the  pretensions  of  the 
Bible.  But,  lo !  when  these  revelations  were  made,  the 
same  lesson  of  progressive  development  was  written  on 
every  page ;  the  same  calmness  and  patience  were  every- 
where traceable  in  the  Divine  Architect's  plan  of  building 
a  world.  If  we  could  say  no  more,  we  could  be  content 
in  saying  that  this  gradual  unfolding  of  redemption  is  of 
a  piece  with  the  gradual  unfolding  of  creation. 

We  are  far  from  saying,  however,  that  we  are  ignorant 
of  any  reason  for  this  slow  progression.  Nay,  we  see  rea- 
sons for  it  in  redemption,  that  we  could  not  plead  in  behalf 
of  progressive  development  in  creation.  It  is  consistent 
with  our  best  ideas  of  Omnipotence  that  a  world  or  a  uni- 
verse of  matter  should  be  spoken  into  instant  perfection 
of  existence.  But  it  is  not  consistent  with  our  knowledge 
of  the  rational  nature  of  man  that  Omnipotence  should 
instantaneously  redeem  it  from  error  and  guilt.  Omnip- 
otence might,  perhaps,  instantaneously  annihilate  such  a 
nature,  but  certainly  can  not  instantaneously  save  it ;  be- 
cause the  salvation  of  a  rational  nature  implies  that  the 
nature  itself  desires  to  be  saved;  that  it  is  weary  of  sin;  is 
conscious  of  its  curse;  has  trust  in  a  Savior;  and  peniten- 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


475 


tially  returns  to  submission  to  the  will  of  God.  These 
are  not  the  results  of  mere  omnipotence.  Some  of  them 
are  results  which  can  only  flow  from  man's  own  experience. 
To  know  the  whole  bitterness  and  curse  of  sin ;  to  know 
man's  inability  to  redeem  himself  from  its  power  and  guilt; 
to  attain  to  such  a  knowledge  of  human  helplessness  and 
hopelessness  that  a  sinning  race  shall  be  willing  to  come, 
sin-sick  and  heart-broken,  to  cast  themselves  imploringly 
on  the  mercy  of  God — these  are  results  which  can  only 
be  reached  through  long  and  varied  experiences,  through 
repeated  demonstrations,  in  human  history,  of  man's  de- 
pravity and  helplessness,  and  of  God's  compassion  and 
mercy.  Therefore,  when  men  did  not  like  to  retain  God 
in  their  knowledge,  he  gave  them  up  to  their  own  ways, 
(Rom.  i:  21-32,)  until,  like  the  prodigal  son,  their  herit- 
age wasted  in  riotous  living,  and  every  step  plunging  them 
into  deeper  want,  they  should  be  prepared  to  say,  "/  will 
arise  and  go  to  my  Father^ 

Meanwhile,  Divine  Wisdom  set  on  foot  such  remedial 
measures  as  the  condition  of  the  race  demanded,  and  de- 
veloped these,  step  by  step,  during  a  long  period  of  Divine 
forbearance,  while  the  human  experiment  of  self-govern- 
ment and  self-redemption  was  pending.  Let  us  glance  at 
the  landmarks  which  indicate  this  progressive  development 
of  Divine  mercy. 

1.  A  promise  is  made  to  the  first  sinful  pair  that  the 
seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  (Gen. 
iii :  1 5.)  Here  the  seed  of  the  Divine  purpose  is  cast  into 
the  ground. 

2.  Abraham  is  chosen  as  the  founder  of  a  nation,  with 
the  promise.  In  thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed.  (Gen. 
xii:  3.)     Here  the  seed  is  germinating. 

3.  The  Jewish  nation  appears,  and  is  taken  into  cove- 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


nant  with  God,  as  a  peculiar  people.  Here  the  blade 
springs  forth. 

It  was  not  for  themselves,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  apos- 
tate nations,  that  the  Jews  were  eleded  to  be  a  peculiar 
people,  that  through  them  truth  might  be  preserved  and 
disseminated,  and  the  way  be  prepared  for  the  ultimate 
return  of  the  prodigal  wanderers.  Hence  their  location 
in  the  geographical  center  of  the  earth,  as  then  known. 
Hence  God's  movements,  through  them,  on  the  most 
powerful  and  enlightened  nations  of  antiquity.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  Jehovah's  movements  were  at  the 
great  centers  of  learning,  religion,  And  authority — the  ra- 
diating centers  of  the  world.  Through  Israel  he  moved 
on  Egypt  and  her  idols,  and  radiated  thence  over  the  earth 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God;  and  similarly  on  Nine- 
veh, Babylon,  Ecbatana,  Susa,  and  thence  on  all  the  prov- 
inces of  vast  ernpires.  The  books  of  Esther,  Ezra,  Ne- 
hemiah,  and  Daniel,  as  well  as  many  other  portions  of  the 
Old  Testament,  show  how,  through  the  Jews,  alike  in  their 
victories  and  defeats,  as  a  powerful  nation  at  home,  or  as 
helpless  captives  abroad,  knowledge  was  disseminated,  sin 
denounced,  idolatry  overturned,  justice  asserted,  mercy 
displayed,  hopes  of  a  coming  Deliverer  awakened,  until,  to 
a  much  greater  extent  than  a  superficial  reader  of  the  Bible 
would  suppose,  the  leaven  of  Divine  truth  was  deposited 
with  the  nations.  The  blade  is  growing.  Jewish  and 
heathen  authors  attest  that,  before  the  Messiah  appeared, 
a  general  expedlation  of  a  Divine  Redeemer  had  been 
awakened.  Equally  true  is  it,  from  all  authentic  testimo- 
nies, that  at  this  time  men  were  every-where  weary  of  their 
own  experiments,  and  had  been  driven  to  the  conclusion 
that  a  Divine  hand  must  save,  or  the  race  be  hopelessly 
abandoned. 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


477 


A  complete  view  of  this  subjeft  would  require  us  to 
notice  the  respective  missions  providentially  assigned  to 
other  nations,  all  subservient  to  the  one  great  purpose  of 
preparing  the  world  for  the  coming  of  the  Savior — the 
golden  thread  stretching  across  the  ages,  on  which  all  in- 
fluential events  were  divinely  strung;  but  our  space  for- 
bids us  to  undertake  the  task. 

4.  Jesus  is  born.  He  comes  when  the  world  is  waiting 
for  him  with  eager  expe6lancy;  when  the  spread  of  the 
Roman  empire  has  so  far  unified  the  interests  of  the  na- 
tions as  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  universal  spread  of  the 
Gospel;  when  the  Roman  civilization  is  sinking  in  its 
dotage,  and  with  it  is  departing  the  last  hope  of  success  in 
solving  the  problem  of  human  regeneration;  when  human 
religions  and  philosophies  have  lost  their  inspiration, 
and  over  the  ruins  of  ancient  systems  a  shuddering  skep- 
ticism dismally  broods  ;  when,  from  all  quarters  of  the 
globe,  men  are  looking  with  vague  desire  to  the  land  of 
Judea  for  deliverance,  and  the  wretched  prodigals  from  all 
lands  are  sighing  for  a  return  to  their  Father's  house. 

The  purposes  of  God  are  ripening.  The  stars  in  the 
Jewish  firmament  are  paling.  John  the  Harbinger,  the 
morning  star,  joyfully  heralds  the  approaching  sun,  in 
whose  beams  are  to  be  found  life  and  health  for  all  peoples. 
The  Son  of  God  is  made  known.  Gentile  sinners  and 
Samaritans  seek  him  for  the  blessings  of  his  love.  The 
corn  is  in  the  ear;  and,  in  a  full  knowledge  of  the  speedy 
approach  of  the  time  when  he  shall  draw  all  men  unto  him, 
he  says  :  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  look  on  the  fields^  for  they  are 
white  already  to  harvest ;  and  he  that  reapeth  receiveth  wages 
and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal^  that  both  he  that  soweth 
and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together.  (John  iv  :  35,  36.) 

Thus,  while  the  Divine  forbearance  allowed  ages  to 


478 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


come  and  go,  waiting  till  a  rebellious  race  should  weary 
of  its  selfhood,  and  come  back  in  submission  to  its  Sove- 
reign, Divine  wisdom  selected  and  employed  individuals, 
families,  tribes,  nations,  through  whom  to  communicate 
his  intentions  and  reveal  his  will.  And  step  by  step  can 
we  trace,  through  the  history  of  four  thousand  years,  the 
unfolding  of  the  eternal  and  unchangeable  purpose  of  God 
to  save  men  by  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ. 

This  sketch,  we  are  aware,  is  too  brief  to  be  satisfadtory, 
except  for  starting  inquiry.  But  it  is  sufficiently  clear  to 
prepare  us  for  one  conclusion  of  immense  importance  to 
all  who  would  understand  the  Bible,  namely,  the  Old  Test- 
ament is  no  longer  a  book  of  authority.  The  stars  shine  no 
longer  in  presence  of  the  sun.  The  blade  and  ear  are  no 
longer  trusted  in,  after  the  full  grain  in  the  ear  has  been 
obtained.  The  revelations  and  ordinations  of  former  ages 
were  preparatory.  They  belonged  to  the  infancy  and  child- 
hood of  the  race.  They  were  pidtorial,  ritualistic,  adum.- 
brative.  The  law  was  a  pedagogue  to  bring  men  to  Christ. 
But  now  that  faith  is  come,  we  are  no  longer  under  the 
pedagogue.  (Gal.  iii:  24,  25.)  The  same  God,  who,  at 
sundry  times  and  in  divers  parcels,  spoke  unto  the  fathers 
by  the  prophets,  has  now  spoken  by  his  Son,  not  the  words 
of  a  temporary  law,  but  of  the  "everlasting  Gospel;"  and 
has  established,  not  a  kingdom  to  be  shaken  and  destroyed, 
but  a  kingdom  which  can  not  be  shaken.  (Heb.  xii:  28.) 

Leaving  this  ante-christian  development  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  we  proceed  to  notice — 

II.  The  development  of  Individual  Christian  Life 
AND  Character. 

In  this  application  of  the  text — and  we  do  it  no  violence 
in  thus  applying  it,  for  the  principle  is  still  the  same, 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


479 


whether  applied  to  individuals,  societies,  or  nations — 
there  are  four  things  worthy  of  note. 

1.  There  is  a  seed^  containing  the  germ  of  all  spiritual 
life,  without  which  the  fruits  of  righteousness  and  holi- 
ness can  not  be  grown.  That  seed  is  the  word  of  God — 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  (Luke  viii:  ii.) 

2.  There  is  a  soil  in  which  that  seed  must  be  deposited, 
to  cause  it  to  grow.  That  soil  is  the  human  heart ;  and 
as  "the  earth  bringeth  forth  fruit  of  herself" — automat- 
ically, by  virtue  of  her  native  capacities,  and  through  the 
certain,  though  mysterious,  chemistry  by  which  the  ever 
present  God  elaborates  life,  and  bloom,  and  fruitfulness 
from  the  dull  clod  of  the  valley — so  is  the  spiritual  nature 
of  man  possessed  of  capacities  for  automatic  development 
of  the  truth  it  has  received.  The  truth  of  God  is  adapted 
to  our  nature,  and  the  soul  "brings  forth  fruit  of  herself," 
by  virtue  of  her  own  capacities  and  powers  for  receiving, 
digesting,  and  appropriating  truth.  //  is  this  that  clothes 
our  rational  nature  with  fearful  responsibility. 

3.  Men  plant  and  water — God  gives  the  increase.  We 
are  at  last  dependent  on  Him  who  gives  the  seed-time  and 
the  harvest;  who  gives  sunbeams,  and  showers,  and  all 
needful  heavenly  blessings  to  crown  the  labors  of  man  with 
success,  to  multiply  the  seed  sown,  and  increase  the  fruits 
of  our  toil. 

4.  The  life  that  springs  from  this  germ,  through  this 
soil,  is  feeble  in  its  beginnings,  and  grows  into  complete- 
ness; "first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn 
in  the  ear." 

How  sadly  mistaken  are  our  conceptions  of  religious 
life!  We  have  been  taught  to  rely  so  much  on  religious 
experiences,  and  have  listened  to  so  many  extravagant  nar- 
rations of  the  miraculous  transformations  instantaneously 


4H0 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


wrought,  that  we  are  constantly  looking  for  the  kingdom 
to  come  "with  observation,"  with  signs  and  wonders,  and 
outward  display.  We  fail  to  learn  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  within  us,  in  the  truth  which  an  honest  heart  has 
welcomed,  in  the  faith  to  which  that  truth  has  led  us.  We 
look  for  the  earthquake,  tempest,  and  fire  in  which  God 
is  not,  and  fail  to  hear  the  "still,  small  voice,"  in  which 
God  is. 

There  will  always  be  great  variety  of  psychological  mani- 
festation attendant  on  conversion,  because  of  the  great 
variety  of  physical  organization,  temperament,  and  educa- 
tion. Yet,  as  a  general  rule,  especially  in  Christian  lands, 
where  we  grow  from  infancy  into  the  knowledge  of  the 
Gospel,  there  will  be  found  a  silent  working  of  truth  in  the 
heart  and  conscience,  and  a  growth  into  life,  silent  and  grad- 
ual, but  beautiful  and  progressive.  The  New  Testament 
Scriptures  every-where  contemplate  spiritual  life  as  a 
growth  from  small  beginnings;  as  involving  necessarily  the 
weakness  of  infancy,  and  the  struggles  of  childhood,  ere  we 
are  prepared  for  the  ripeness  of  manhood.  The  child  of 
God,  when  born  of  water  and  Spirit,  is  but  a  babe.  The 
faith  and  baptism  that  bring  him  into  Christ  but  enable 
him  to  begin  to  live  in  "newness  of  life."  And  this  life, 
like  all  other  life,  depends  for  its  perpetuation  and  devel- 
opment on  food,  air,  and  exercise. 

1.  Truth  is  the  Christian's  food,  milk  first,  meat  after- 
ward. As  new-born  babes  earnestly  desire  the  pure,  spiritual 
milk,  that  you  may  grow  thereby,  (i  Pet.  ii:  2.)  T'hy  words 
were  found,  and  I  did  eat  them;  and  thy  word  was  unto  me 
the  joy  and  the  rejoicing  of  my  heart.  (Jer.  xv:  16.) 

2.  The  atmosphere  of  the  kingdom  of  God  is  a  pure 
atmosphere ;  we  "  live  in  the  Spirit,"  and  "  walk  in  the 
Spirit."    It  is  essential  that  we  keep  our  place  within  the 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


481 


limits  of  the  kingdom;  for,  outside  its  walls  there  are 
marshes  of  unbelief  and  carnality,  whose  malarious  ex- 
halations wither  the  life  of  all  who  inhale  them. 

3.  The  exercise  to  which  we  are  called  consists  of  the 
delightful  adlivities  of  faith  and  love  to  which  the  exam- 
ple of  Christ  and  of  the  primitive  Church  leads  us. 

All  these  are  essential  to  the  fullness  of  life.  We  may 
eat,  and  not  thrive,  if  we  live  in  a  bad  atmosphere.  We 
may  live  in  a  pure  atmosphere,  and  languish,  if  we  refuse 
to  eat,  or  if  we  eat  forbidden  fruit.  We  may  have  good 
food  and  pure  air,  and  still  be  dwarfed,  if  we  fail  to  exer- 
cise ourselves  unto  godliness — to  employ  all  our  ransomed 
powers  to  do  good  to  man,  and  to  give  praise  to  God. 

With  these  premises  before  us,  we  deduce  some  con- 
clusions of  praftical  importance. 

I.  Many  fear  that  they  were  never  converted,  because 
there  has  been  nothing  extraordinary  to  mark  their  transit 
from  death  to  life.  But  this  arises  from  the  use  of  human 
standards  of  conversion,  and  a  foolish  comparison  of  our- 
selves with  others.  The  apostolic  tests  were  different. 
He  that  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  has  been  begotten 
of  God.  (i  Jno.  V :  i .)  Every  one  that  works  righteousness  has 
been  begotten  by  him.  (i  Jno.  ii:  29.)  Every  one  that  loves 
has  been  begotten  of  God.  (i  Jno.  iv:  7.)  We  know  that  we 
have  passed  from  death  to  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren. 
(i  Jno.  iii:  12.)  If  the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  us,  and 
is  like  to  a  man  that  sowed  seed  in  his  field,  we  must  have 
our  eye  on  small  beginnings,  and  test  the  genuineness  of 
our  life  by  the  charader  of  its  growth.  The  first  con- 
verts to  Christ  began  with  slender  capital.  They  learned 
simply  to  put  their  trust  in  Jesus  as  their  Lord  and  Sav- 
ior, and,  for  his  sake,  to  renounce  their  sins.  They  were 
then  baptized  into  Christ,  and  placed  in  the  Church — the 
31 


482 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


plantation  of  grace — where,  from  this  germinal  faith,  they 
might,  in  God's  own  sunshine,  watered  with  the  dews  of 
his  love,  and  sustained  by  the  Spirit's  inspiring  breath, 
develop  the  blade,  the  ear,  the  full  corn  in  the  ear. 

2.  Many  doubt  their  acceptable  standing,  because  they 
fall,  in  a6lual  life,  so  far  below  their  ideal.  They  have 
many  imperfedions,  many  conflids  with  evil,  and  even 
many  sins.  This,  they  think,  could  not  be  if  they  were 
Christians;  especially  in  view  of  the  inspired  declaration, 
He  that  has  been  begotten  of  God  does  not  commit  sin.  ( i  J  no.  iii : 
9.)  But  if  Christian  life  is  2l  growth^  of  course  our  attain- 
ments must  fall  below  our  ideal.  Why  doubt  that  the 
tender  spear,  that  first  breaks  through  the  clod,  is  wheat, 
because  you  see  no  "ear"  on  it  such  as  your  ideal  grain- 
stalk  has  ?  It  \^ growing  to  that.  Are  you  growing  in  grace 
and  in  knowledge?  Are  you  gaining  additional  victories 
over  weakness  and  impulse?  Is  your  hand  growing  stead- 
ier and  more  skillful  in  holding  the  helm  to  guide  your 
vessel  through  the  storm  ?  Then  remember  that  it  is  first 
the  blade  J  then  the  ear^  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear. 
Remember,  too,  that  childhood  is  a  period  of  struggle 
and  of  peril,  and  that  the  symmetry  and  strength  of  man- 
hood are  gained  only  through  toil  and  conflidl,  overcom- 
ing opposition  and  failure.  True,  he  that  is  begotten  of 
God  does  not  work  sin;  it  is  not  his  vocation;  he  pursues 
it  not  as  his  calling;  that  which  he  works  at  is  righteous- 
ness. Yet  he  may  be  a  feeble  worker,  and  sometimes  a 
failing  one;  but  the  greatest  of  all  questions  to  settle  is, 
does  he  grow  in  the  right  diredlion  ? 

3.  Many  are  living  in  the  past.  They  have  no  growth. 
They  had  an  overgrown  infancy — a  precocious  piety — and 
now  they  are  spiritual  dwarfs.  They  have  grand  stories 
to  teU  of  their  conversion,  and  it  is  all  they  have  to  tell. 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


483 


The  abundant  blossoms  of  their  spring-time  have  brought 
no  fruitage.  There  was  a  blade  of  great  promise,  but  it 
never  yielded  grain  in  the  ear.  Beware  of  these  preten- 
tious beginnings.  Mourn  not  if  thy  faith  is  like  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed;  only  let  it  grow  until  it  becomes  a  tree. 
But  we  hasten  to  consider,  in  the  last  place,  the  opera- 
tion of  this  law, 

III.  In  the  Historical  Development  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

The  Jews,  ignorant  of  this  law,  were  looking  for  a  king- 
dom to  appear,  in  full-grown  might  and  splendor,  to  com- 
mand the  instant  submission  of  the  nations.  Yet  Daniel 
had  predidled  it  as  a  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without 
hands.  (Dan.  ii:  34.)  Not  by  mighty  nor  by  power^  but  by 
my  Spirit^  (Zech.  iv:  6,)  was  the  decree  of  Jehovah,  touch- 
ing the  ereftion  of  this  spiritual  edifice,  which  '"'■groweth 
unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord."  T^he  kingdom  of  God 
Cometh  not  with  outward  display^  (Luke  xvii :  20,)  said  the 
Teacher.  Its  sole  original  herald  was  an  obscure  Naza- 
rite,  in  coarse  garments,  lifting  up  his  voice  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  soon  arrested,  imprisoned,  and  beheaded.  Then 
comes  the  lowly  Nazarene,  attended  by  a  feeble  band  of 
poor  people.  He  spends  a  few  years  in  works  of  mercy, 
and  in  peregrinations  through  the  land  of  Judea,  to  in- 
struct the  people.  Then,  without  leaving  a  written  speech 
behind  him,  or  a  page  of  written  history,  or  an  organized 
society,  he  yields  himself  meekly  to  a  dishonorable  death. 
The  shepherd  is  smitten,  and  the  sheep  are  scattered. 
Next,  we  see  one  hundred  and  twenty  disciples  assembled 
in  an  upper  room  in  Jerusalem.  They  are  poor.  They 
are  unlettered.  They  are  unpolished.  They  are  without 
public  influence.    They  are  on  their  knees,  in  prayer  and 


484 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


supplication,  waiting  for  the  promised  Spirit  of  Truth. 
The  germ  of  all  the  life,  dominion,  and  grandeur  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  in  the  keeping  of  that  little  band. 
When  we  remember  that  this  was  in  the  Augustan  age,  when 
Rome's  imperial  power  and  greatness  filled  all  the  world 
with  awe;  and  then  refledl  that  Rome's  imperial  grandeur, 
and  the  military  prowess  that  supported  it,  and  all  that 
made  that  vast  dominion  the  terror  of  foes,  and  the  pride 
of  citizens,  has  long  since  passed  away,  leaving  to  us  only 
the  hopeless  wrecks  of  her  greatness,  and  the  melancholy 
history  of  her  decline  and  fall ;  while  the  kingdom,  whose 
fortunes  lay  sleeping  in  the  hearts  of  that  little  assembly 
in  Jerusalem,  survives  the  decay  of  empires,  of  races,  and 
of  religions,  sways  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  is  to-day 
the  most  puissant  of  the  moral  forces  at  work  in  the  world; 
we  may  well  divorce  our  souls  from  the  cheating  splendors 
of  material  greatness  and  the  triumphs  of  brute  force,  and 
bring  our  votive  offerings  to  the  King  of  Truth,  whose 
viftories  are  bloodless  and  immortal. 

1 1  was  indeed  a  small  seed — a  diminutive  lump  of  leaven — 
a  little  stone;  but  it  has  grown  to  be  a  great  tree  whose  roots 
strike  into  every  soil,  and  whose  branches  shelter  nations 
and  continents;  it  has  leavened  the  literature,  science,  ju- 
risprudence, and  commercial,  social,  and  domestic  life  of 
the  most  powerful  and  enlightened  nations  of  the  earth; 
it  has  broken  in  pieces  the  once  worshipful  tyrannies  and 
superstitions  of  universal  empires,  and  from  a  little  stone 
is  becoming  a  great  mountain. 

This,  it  is  true,  has  not  been  speedily  accomplished.  The 
first  springing  of  the  blade  was  speedy  and  promising.  But, 
as  with  the  seed  which  the  farmer  sows  in  the  autumn,  which 
springs  at  once  into  beautiful  life,  the  frosts  of  winter  lock 
it  up,  and  the  snows  of  winter  hide  it  away,  and  the  storms 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


485 


of  winter  howl  over  its  grave,  as  if  in  dismal  prophesy  of 
utter  ruin,  so  that  any  one  ignorant  of  the  wonderful  ways 
of  God  would  regard  the  labor  and  hopes  of  the  husband- 
man an  utter  failure;  so  here,  after  the  beautiful  upspring- 
ing  of  the  seed  of  the  kingdom  in  the  first  century,  came 
on  the  reign  of  a  fierce  winter  of  adversity,  when  the  king- 
dom was  hidden  from  the  view  of  men,  and  the  persecuting 
rage  of  the  nations  swept  over  it,  until  to  one  unskilled  in 
the  workings  of  Providence,  the  cause  of  Christ  was  a  fail- 
ure. But  the  spring's  sweet  influence  comes,  in  nature's 
regular  course,  and  melts  the  ice-bands,  and  breaks  the  fet- 
ters of  frost,  and  opens  the  bosom  of  earth,  so  long  locked 
up  in  sullenness,  to  the  sun's  direder  ray;  and  the  quick- 
ened pulses  of  life  thrill  through  all  her  frame,  and  her 
hidden  treasures  of  bloom,  and  fragrance,  and  fruitfulness 
are  brought  forth  to  enrich  and  adorn  the  desolate  surface 
of  the  earth,  and  it  is  found,  at  last,  that  stern  winter  was 
performing  a  necessary  work,  and  helping  on,  in  strange, 
mysterious  ways,  the  glories  of  the  harvest-time.  And  so 
in  the  moral  world,  after  a  long  reign  of  wintry  desolation, 
during  which  it  seemed  as  if  truth  had  perished,  the  vernal 
season  of  rejoicing  came  at  last,  heralded  by  such  warblers 
as  Wyclif,  Huss,  and  Jerome,  who,  like  robins,  came  with 
the  first  gleams  of  rosy  light  and  the  first  breath  of  spring, 
out  from  the  darkness  and  the  cold,  sweet  harbingers  of 
better  times.  There  were,  indeed,  a  few  of  God's  min- 
strels who  had  never  ceased  to  sing.  Away  in  the  mount- 
ain solitudes  of  the  Alps  and  the  Appenines,  hidden  in  the 
deserts,  caged  up  in  the  caves,  God  gave  them  "  songs  in  the 
night"  which  they  never  ceased  to  carol.  Some  of  their 
lays  were  sweet  memories  of  the  past,  and  some  of  them 
gay  prophecies  of  the  coming  glory  of  the  kingdom.  And 
many  a  brave  heart  that  lay  bleeding  in  despair,  weary  of 


486 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


watching  for  the  morning,  faithless  of  any  returning  spring- 
time, and  ready  to  ask,  on  the  brink  of  utter  faithlessness, 
"Who  will  show  us  any  good?"  had  been  charmed  into 
new  hope  and  courage,  and  had  risen  for  new  toils  and  suf- 
ferings. And  the  spring-time  came;  and  the  blade,  so  long 
hidden,  grew  into  vigor  and  fruitfulness.  The  Bible  re- 
appears ;  the  Christ  is  again  proclaimed  Lord  of  the  con- 
science and  Savior  of  the  soul.  His  quickening  voice 
again  goes  forth,  and  nations  spring  into  new  life,  and  go 
after  him,  out  of  darkness  into  light — out  of  slavery  into 
freedom — out  of  a  dismal  stagnation  of  soul  into  heroic 
adtivities  and  gloriously  free  adventures — out  of  weakness, 
and  sin,  and  inglorious  vassalage,  into  strength  and  right- 
eousness, and  the  priceless  treasures  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  The  Protestant  Reformation,  with  all  its  blessed 
fruits  of  intelligence,  liberty,  and  progress,  was  the  spring- 
time of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  blade  grows  and  the 
ear  appears. 

But  "the  full  corn  in  the  ear"  has  not  yet  been  seen. 
Between  spring  and  harvest  there  is  a  season  of  peril  for 
the  grain.  It  is  subjed  to  upheavals  by  frosts  and  thaws; 
to  raids  of  insedls,  which  burrow  into  the  very  heart  and 
root  of  its  treasures;  to  the  sweep  of  storms  and  the  tramp 
of  beasts;  out  of  all  these  perils  we  clutch  with  joy  at  last 
the  golden  sheaves.  Analogous  to  this  has  been  the  his- 
tory of  the  kingdom  since  Luther's  Reformation.  We  can 
not  trace  a  steady  and  prosperous  growth.  There  have 
been  many  drawbacks,  many  sad  failures,  many  heavy  dis- 
asters; but  still  the  fields  wave  in  golden  beauty  and  rich- 
ness, and  glow  with  promise  of  a  coming  harvest.  The 
brightest  day  of  promise  is  yet  to  come.  We  have  seen 
the  stone  break  the  image,  and  roll  on  with  accumulative 
magnitude;  but  we  have  not  yet  seen  it  "fill  the  whole 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


487 


earth,"  We  have  seen  the  witnesses  of  God,  that  prophesied 
in  sackcloth,  slain,  and  have  witnessed  their  rising;  but  we 
have  not  yet  heard  the  seventh  trumpet  proclaim :  T^he  king- 
doms of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and 
of  his  Christy  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever.  (Rev.  xi: 
1-15.)  We  see  "the  man  of  sin"  consumed  by  the  spirit 
of  the  Lord's  mouth,  but  we  have  not  yet  seen  him  de- 
stroyed by  the  brightness  of  the  Lord's  coming.  (2  Thess, 
ii:  8,)  The  kingdom  is  not  yet  given,  "under  the  whole 
heaven,"  to  "the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High." 

We  can  not  enter  here  on  the  question  of  the  millennium 
farther  than  to  say  that  we  look  for  no  such  materialistic 
and  sensuous,  if  not  sensual,  paradise  as  many  seem  to 
expedl;  we  leave  all  such  carnal  dreams  to  Mohammedans 
and  Mormons  ;  nor  yet  do  we  look  for  such  a  universal 
spiritual  triumph  as  many  others  hope  for.  This  world 
can  not,  while  it  lasts,  be  other  than  a  scene  of  trial — of 
probation;  but  we  do  look  for  "the  full  corn  in  the  ear," 
for  such  a  spread  of  truth  and  triumph  of  righteousness  as 
has  never  yet  been  seen ;  for  such  an  overthrow  of  beasts 
and  false  prophets,  such  a  splash,  and  gurgle,  and  roar  of 
waters  when  Babylon,  like  a  millstone,  is  cast  into  the  sea; 
such  an  overthrow  of  tyrannies,  oppressions,  superstitions, 
and  impostures,  and  such  a  recognition  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  on  the  very  earth  which  was  the  theater 
of  his  suffering  and  shame,  as  shall  vindicate  the  long- 
suffering,  the  wisdom,  and  the  justice  of  God.  And  we 
feel  like  saying  to  our  blessed  Lord,  so  long  insulted  and 
rejefted,  as  the  fields  grow  white  to  the  harvest — as  the 
morning-star  glows  with  unusual  brilliancy  in  the  heavens — 
as  the  dim  twilight  of  the  past  gives  way  to  the  roseate  hues 
of  a  gay  morning — as  we  listen  to  crash  after  crash  of  fall- 
ing errors  and  wrongs,  and  catch  the  notes  of  one  and 


488 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


another  song  of  deliverance — we  feel  like  saying,  in  the 
beautiful  language  of  Cowper: 

"Come,  then,  and,  added  to  thy  many  crowns. 
Receive  yet  one,  the  crown  of  all  the  Earth, 
Thou  who  alone  art  worthy!    It  was  thine 
By  ancient  covenant,  ere  Nature's  birth  ; 
And  thou  hast  made  it  thine  by  purchase  since. 
And  overpaid  its  value  with  thy  blood. 
Thy  saints  proclaim  thee  King ;  and  in  their  hearts 
Thy  title  is  engraven  with  a  pen 
Dipped  in  the  fountain  of  eternal  love. 
Thy  saints  proclaim  thee  King ;  and  thy  delay 
Gives  courage  to  their  foes,  who,  could  they  see 
The  dawn  of  thy  last  advent,  long  desired. 
Would  creep  into  the  bowels  of  the  Itills, 
And  flee  for  safety  to  the  falling  rocks. 
The  very  spirit  of  the  world  is  tired 
Of  its  own  taunting  question,  asked  so  long, 
'  Where  is  the  promise  of  your  Lord's  approach  ?* 
The  infidel  has  shot  his  bolts  away, 
Till,  his  exhausted  quiver,  yielding  none. 
He  gleans  the  blunted  shafts  that  have  recoiled. 
And  aims  them  at  the  shield  of  Truth  again. 

****** 
Come,  then,  and,  added  to  thy  many  crowns. 
Receive  yet  one,  as  radiant  as  the  rest, 
Due  to  thy  last  and  most  effeftual  work. 
Thy  word  fulfilled,  the  conquest  of  a  world!" 

From  this  phase  of  our  subjedt  we  deduce  some  pradli 
cal  refleilions,  with  which  this  discourse  will  be  concluded. 

I.  Whatever  triumph  is  yet  to  come,  is  to  be  the  result 
of  moral  power.  "The  full  corn  in  the  ear"  is  but  the 
full  development  of  the  germ  in  the  seed  sown,  and  has 
the  same  source  as  the  blade  and  the  ear.  We  must  not 
grow  skeptical,  then,  as  to  the  conquering  power  of  the 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


489 


truth.  There  are  many  whose  faith  in  the  triumph  of 
truth  is  paralyzed ;  and,  in  sheer  skepticism  as  to  the 
deathless  force  of  the  word  of  God,  they  are  seeking  com- 
fort in  the  wildest  imaginings  of  earthquake,  and  fire,  and 
tempest,  to  close  the  scenes  of  time.  They  indulge  in  the 
most  dolorous  croakings  over  the  hopeless  degeneracy  of 
the  times,  and  overwhelm  with  evil  vaticinations  every 
hopeful  enterprise  for  the  world's  salvation.  Dante  has 
placed  in  one  of  his  hells  such  as  predidted  future  events. 
Their  punishment  is  to  have  their  faces  reversed,  and  set 
the  contrary  way  on  their  bodies,  so  that  they  are  com- 
pelled to  look  and  walk  backward.  It  seems  to  us  that 
many  of  our  modern  prophets  have  had  their  heads  re- 
versed even  here,  so  that  their  lugubrious  gaze  is  led  into 
the  past  rather  than  the  future;  and  they  find  more  ma- 
terial for  refledlion  in  the  wrecks  of  past  struggles  than  in 
the  promises  of  coming  triumphs.  We  should  carefully 
guard  against  such  a  paralysis  of  faith.  The  triumphs  of 
our  King  are  assigned,  in  the  Scriptures,  to  moral  power. 
As  a  King,  he  is  King  of  Truth.  It  is  in  this  that  his 
kingdom  is  declared  to  be  "  not  of  this  world."  Were 
the  raging  passions  of  men  to  be  subdued  until  harmony 
would  reign  over  the  scenes  of  former  discord  and  cruelty? 
The  reason  given  is :  For  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  (Isa.  xi :  6—9.) 
Is  Babylon  to  fall  ?  That  fall  is  preceded  by  the  mission 
of  an  angel  having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach  to 
every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people.  (Rev. 
xiv:  6—8.)  Are  wars  to  cease,  and  peace  to  brood,  dove- 
like, over  all  the  earth  ?  The  reason  given  is :  For  the  law 
shall  go  forth  from  Zion,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jeru- 
saletn.  (Isa.  ii:  1—4.)  It  may  seem  like  a  slender  reliance; 
but  it  lives  to  plant  its  standard  over  the  ruins  of  colossa 


490 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


empires  that  once  sought  to  destroy  it  with  the  sword  ! 
It  is  not  alone.  Its  author  lives  and  reigns  to  guide  it 
to  viftory.  His  providences  open  for  it  a  free  course. 
If  men  and  nations  ereft  themselves  in  pride  and  stub- 
bornness against  the  Lord  and  his  anointed,  He  that 
sitteth  in  the  heavens  knows  how  to  abase  the.  proud  and 
exalt  the  lowly.  If  nations  become  incorrigible,  Divine 
judgments  can  annihilate  them,  and  give  their  places  to 
others.  The  Great  Engineer  has  been  for  ages  tunneling 
the  mountains,  bridging  the  chasms,  spanning  the  floods, 
forcing  a  highway  through  flinty  rocks,  along  precipitous 
heights,  and  over  barren  deserts.  The  track  is  partly  laid, 
and  trains  are  running  over  sedions  of  the  road.  A  day 
may  consummate  at  last  what  it  required  ages  to  prepare 
the  way  for,  and  we  shall  reach  the  desired  terminus.  Deep 
down  beneath  the  tumults  and  wrecks  of  the  surface  of 
Time's  stormy  sea,  in  the  eternal  calm  of  His  own  pur- 
poses, God  is  stretching  the  wires  that  shall  connedl  this 
world  with  the  next,  and  bring  heaven  and  earth  into 
unison. 

To  the  eye  of  sense  it  seems  as  if  the  Church  is  a  feeble 
instrumentality  to  work  out  these  great  results;  and  so  it 
is.  The  Gulf  Stream  is,  in  comparison  with  the  ocean,  a 
small  stream,  and  one  would  think,  to  look  on  that  river 
of  warm  water,  that  the  cold  waters  of  the  ocean  would 
swallow  it  up  right  speedily.  Yet  there  it  is — in  the  ocean, 
but  not  of  it — an  everlasting  river,  never  failing  in  drouths 
nor  overflowing  in  floods,  flowing  steadily  and  resistlessly 
on  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Arftic  seas,  bearing  the 
warm  treasures  of  the  tropics  to  frozen  regions — changing 
climates — giving  channels  to  winds — spreading  grateful 
blessings  of  warmth  over  regions  that  otherwise  would  be 
locked  in  eternal  frosts,  and  receiving  back  the  cold  cur- 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


491 


rents  of  the  north  only  to  be  elevated  to  a  more  desirable 
temperature,  and  sent  back  again  in  gratefulness  of  bless- 
ing to  the  unfriendly  regions  whence  they  came.  Such  a 
stream  does  history  reveal  in  the  ocean  of  human  life — the 
Church  of  the  living  God.  Flowing  from  the  tropical 
regions  of  Divine  Love,  it  goes  out  a  river  of  life,  bearing 
to  the  icv  regions  of  human  selfishness  and  sin  the  warm 
streams  of  truth  and  love  from  God,  and,  by  a  thousand 
gentle  influences,  as  it  flows  along  rocky  coasts,  or  amidst 
the  desolation  of  icebergs,  subdues  the  severities  and  con- 
quers the  desolations  of  sin's  wintry  reign,  and  gives  the 
bloom  of  spring  and  the  fruits  of  summer  to  lands  which 
else  were  locked  in  the  everlasting  embrace  of  death.  It 
never  ceases  to  flow.  Men  may  not  know  it;  navigators 
may  look  on  it  with  suspicion;  fogs  may  enwrap  its  bene- 
ficial currents  and  hide  them  from  the  gaze  of  the  mariner; 
but  as  growing  intelligence  dispels  the  mvsteries  of  the  past, 
and  unfolds  the  beneficent  purposes  of  Him  who  is  "won- 
derful in  working,"  the  world  will  bless  the  giver  for  this 
river  of  life,  and  gratefully  acknowledge  the  blessings  which 
it  brings. 

1.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  noblest  fruitage  of 
Christian  life  is  yet  to  be  seen.  We  sometimes  speak  of 
primitive  Christianity  as  if  the  noblest  perfedion  of  char- 
after  belonged  to  the  first  age;  as  if  the  blade,  in  its  first 
springing,  was  superior  to  the  full  corn  in  the  ear.  The 
full  revelation  of  truth  belongs  to  the  first  age — for  that 
was  the  harvest-period  in  the  revelation  of  truth;  but  it 
was  the  seed-time,  so  far  as  the  fruits  of  the  Gospel  are 
concerned.  No  one  can  read  the  first  and  third  chapters 
of  Romans,  and  exped  to  see  hewn  out  of  such  quarries 
of  Jewish  and  Gentile  humanity  blocks  of  Parian  marble. 
We  inherit  a  Christian  civilization  which  they  had  not;  and, 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


in  view  of  the  blessed  heritage  of  faith,  and  hope,  and  love 
which  we  possess,  God  has  a  right  to  demand  of  the  Church 
now,  a  strength,  symmetry,  and  fruitfulness  beyond  any 
thing  that  glorified  her  early  history.  More  than  the  mir 
acles  which  we  have  lost,  is  the  strength  and  certainty  of  the 
faith  which  has  been  tested  through  the  storms  and  con- 
flids  of  eighteen  hundred  years.  Perhaps  the  passive  vir- 
tues adorned  the  lives  of  the  patient  sufferers  of  the  early 
ages  more  than  ours;  but  the  aBive  virtues  of  Christian 
charadler  ought,  in  the  blessed  sunlight  of  this  nineteenth 
century — in  this  land  of  freedom,  with  our  surroundings  of 
a  high  Christian  civilization,  with  our  unparalleled  facilities 
forconquering  space,  and  time,  and  nature,  and  for  condens- 
ing into  an  hour  more  of  real  life  than  used  to  belong  to 
a  year;  invested  by  science  with  an  almost  godlike  com- 
mand over  the  elements,  and  a  godlike  dominion  over  the 
treasures  of  the  soil,  the  waters,  and  the  mountains — the 
aftive  virtues  of  Christian  life  ought  to  shine  in  us  with 
unmatched  luster!  The  fruits  of  Christian,  philanthropy 
should  abound  in  unparalleled  richness  and  variety,  and  the 
blessings  of  a  triumphant  faith  and  cheerful  piety  should 
spread  their  light  and  power  over  all  the  earth.  We  can 
not  take  space  here  to  sketch  our  ideas  of  the  triumphs  yet 
to  be  won  by  the  Church  of  God.  A  Spiritual  Brother- 
hood, redeemed  from  all  human  authority,  united  only  in 
Christ,  with  no  test  of  admission  but  submission  to  Christ, 
and  no  test  of  membership  but  obedience  to  Christ's  com- 
mandments— such  a  brotherhood,  enjoying,  in  the  closest 
spiritual  unity,  the  highest  spiritual  freedom,  and  consecrat- 
ing all  their  powers,  in  holy  enthusiasm,  to  the  world's  re- 
generation, would  soon  banish  infidelity,  superstition,  and 
tyranny  from  the  earth,  mold  the  governments  of  the  world 
into  humaner  forms,  drive  out  selfishness,  oppressio  i. 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


493 


aristocracy,  and  caste,  before  the  light  of  Christ's  ideas  of 
the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Man,  and 
plant  in  all  lands,  and  in  the  islands  of  the  sea,  peace  and 
good-will  among  the  families  of  mankind.  The  Spirit  of 
God  would  brood  lovingly,  in  dove-like  sweetness  and 
gentleness,  over  such  a  scene,  and  heaven  stoop  down  to 
bless,  with  unwonted  lavishness  of  bounty,  the  reconciled 
earth.  The  glorious  harvest  of  the  full  corn  in  the  ear 
would  be  gathered  in  with  joyful  shouts  of  harvest-home, 
and  the  sower  who  went  forth  with  tears,  and  the  reaper 
who  gathered  in  the  sheaves  with  joy,  would  rejoice  to- 
gether before  the  Lord. 


AMOS  SUTTON  HAYDEN. 


'TP HIS  well-known,  faithful  minister  of  the  Gospel  was  born,  September 
17,  1813,  in  Youngstown,  Trumbull  County,  Ohio,  to  which  place 
his  father,  Samuel  Hayden,  had  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania,  in  1803. 

In  a  family  of  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  were  sons,  Sutton  was 
the  youngest.  In  boyhood,  he  sought  every  opportunity  to  indulge  his  in- 
clination for  study,  and  used  such  books  and  facilities  for  education  as  lay 
in  his  way.  He  was  especially  fond  of  religious  books,  and  read  with  great 
delight  "Hervey's  Meditations"  and  the  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  at  a  very 
early  age.  Other  works,  mostly  of  a  religious  charafter,  fe^l  into  his  hands, 
some  of  which  required  close  application  and  study,  to  which  he  diligently 
applied  himself,  and,  by  this  means,  made  considerable  progress  in  the 
acquisition  of  useflil  knowledge.  From  the  age  of  fifteen  to  seventeen,  he 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  classical  education  in  his  own  native  village.  He 
rose  rapidly  m  his  classes,  surpassing  older  students  in  the  study  of  the 
classics,  for  which,  rather  than  mathematics,  he  had  a  taste. 

His  religious  conviftions  were  early,  and  marked.  His  parents  were 
honorable  members  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  he  was  trained  in  the  doc- 
trinal views  and  praftices  of  that  body.  Previous  to  his  obedience  to  the 
Gospel,  he  passed  through  the  usual  Baptist  experience,  so  common  at  that 
day,  of  "getting  religion,"  and  often  wondered  why  it  was  that  God  was  so 
long  in  coming  to  give  relief  and  bring  joy  to  his  soul.  At  last,  he  had  the 
Gospel  plan  clearly  explained  to  him  by  that  gifted  and  eloquent  servant 
of  God,  Walter  Scott,  by  whom  he  was  immersed,  March  20,  1828,  in 
the  fifteenth  year  of  his  age. 

He  soon  began  to  exercise  his  gift  in  exhortation,  traveling  considerable 
with  other  preachers  as  associate  and  aid,  especially  with  his  brother  Wil- 
liam. 

In  the  summer  and  fall  of  1832,  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  began 
to  hold  meetings,  and  his  labors  were  every-where  crowned  with  encour- 
aging success.  He  was  married.  May  31,  1837,  to  Sarah  M.  Ely,  of 
Deerfield,  Portage  County,  Ohio. 

(495) 


496 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


In  September,  1840,  he  settled  in  Collamer,  Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio, 
then  known  as  Euclid,  as  pastor  of  the  Church;  and,  in  1850,  on  the 
founding  of  the  Western  Reserve  Ecledlic  Institute,  at  Hiram,  Ohio,  the 
Board  unanimously  elefted  him  Principal  of  the  seminary.  Under  his  admin- 
istration, seconded  by  able  assistants,  the  institution  rose  to  great  strength 
and  prosperity.  After  holding  that  position  seven  years  he  resigned,  and 
returned  to  Collamer.  The  next  year  he  was  elefted  Principal  of  the 
McNeely  Normal  School,  at  Hopedale,  Ohio,  and  accepted,  laboring  there 
for  one  year  in  the  double  capacity  of  Principal  of  the  school  and  preacher 
for  the  Church.  He  resigned  in  August,  1859,  ^^'^  returned  to  his  Church 
in  Collamer,  which  had  been  constantly  urging  him  to  resume  his  labors 
among  them.  He  has  been  located  at  that  point  ever  since,  where  he  is 
greatly  beloved  by  the  entire  community.  Excepting  the  periods  already 
mentioned,  that  has  been  his  principal  field  of  labor  for  twenty-seven  years, 
presenting  a  rare  but  instruftive  example  of  permanency  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry. 

He  has  also  been  quite  successful  as  a  musical  composer  and  publisher. 
He  is  the  author  of  the  first  compilation  of  church  music  published  among 
the  Disciples.  It  appeared  when  he  was  only  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
and  was  much  sought  after.  It  was  a  great  benefit  at  the  time,  in  furnish- 
ing tunes  for  the  use  of  the  infant  churches.  He  has  published  several 
musical  works  since,  one  of  which,  the  "Sacred  Melodeon,"  has  run 
through  many  editions,  and  had  an  extensive  sale.  He  was  also  one  of 
the  committee  that  compiled  the  new  edition  of  the  "  Christian  Hymn 
Book,"  and,  in  the  preparation  of  that  work,  rendered  valuable  assistance. 

Brother  Hayden  is  distinguished  for  large  conscientiousness,  intense 
delicacy  of  feeling,  earnest  religious  conviftions,  and  great  purity  of  life 
He  is  a  model  Christian  gentleman,  an  excellent  pastor,  and  a  scholar  o 
DO  mean  attainments. 


CONSCIENCE  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 


BY  A.  S.  HAYDEN. 


"Which  show  the  work  of  the  law  vyritten  in  their  hearts,  their  con- 
science also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing, 
or  else  excusing  one  another." — Romans  ii:  15. 

THE  New  Testament  reveals  a  grand  and  glorious 
salvation.  The  angel  that  announced  the  birth  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  announced  him  as  a  Savior:  "He  shall 
save  his  people  from  their  sins."  (Matt,  i:  21.)  The 
Divine  grace  is  poured  forth,  in  boundless  profusion,  "to 
purge  our  sins" — to  recover  us,  absolutely  and  eternally, 
from  our  ruin  in  depravity  and  guilt.  Salvation  is  the 
herald-note  of  the  Gospel — its  voice  of  proclamation  to 
the  whole  human  family.  This  is  the  burden  of  the  apos- 
tolic mission.  Repentance  and  remission,  in  the  name  of 
the  crucified,  exalted  Prince  and  Savior,  were,  through  the 
obedience  of  the  Gospel,  to  be  brought  to  every  son  and 
daughter  of  a  lost  and  ruined  race.  He  who  studies  the 
Christian  religion,  thereforCj  must,  first  of  all,  contemplate 
it  as  a  great  salvation. 

But  it  is  also  a  boundless  benevolence — full  and  free, 
and  surpassing  all  utterance.    This  thought  is  itself  the 
lesult  and  outflow  from  another  which  lies  above  and  back 
of  it  as  its  cause — the  Divine  philanthropy.    "God  so 
32  (497) 


498 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  (John  iii:  i6.)  God  so  loved.  This 
speech  "jo  loved"  admits  of  no  degree  above  it.  It  is  the 
highest  form  of  speech — the  superlative  of  superlatives. 
No  conception  of  philanthropy  can  transcend  this.  An- 
gelic powers  could  rise  no  higher.  The  humblest  saint  is 
equal — in  enjoyment,  is  superior — to  the  highest  seraph, 
in  respedl  to  this  unparalleled  and  unlimited  benevolence. 
The  Gospel,  issuing  from  this  full  fountain  of  goodness, 
begets  in  all  who  receive  it  the  like  emotion ;  so  that  the 
work  of  redemption  is  not  complete  in  us  even  when  we 
have  heartily  embraced  it,  and  secured  to  ourselves  the  pos- 
session and  enjoyment  of  the  great  salvation.  It  works 
in  us  to  kindle  the  fires  of  that  supernatural  benevolence 
which  sought  and  found  a  way  to  rescue  and  glorify  lost 
man.  The  saved  sinner  will  feel  after  his  lost  brother  till 
he  find  him ;  and,  having  found  him,  he  will  exclaim,  with 
one  of  old:  "We  have  found  him  of  whom  Moses  in  the 
law  and  all  the  prophets  did  write,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the 
son  of  Joseph."  (John  i:  45.)  The  second,  perhaps  the 
higher,  study  of  the  Christian  religion,  is  the  view  of  it  as 
a  grand  and  superlative  philanthropy. 

But  the  third — the  grandest,  the  highest — is  its  justice. 
It  is  an  eternal,  an  inexorable  righteousness.  "  Mercy  and 
truth  go  before  the  face  of  the  Almighty,  but  justice  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne."  (Psalms 
Ixxxix:  14.)  In  the  unfolding  of  his  character  in  the  work 
of  redemption,  justice  and  mercy  meet;  righteousness  and 
peace  kiss  each  other.  (See  Psalms  Ixxxv :  10.)  The 
union  of  these  ineffable  attributes  is  the  highest  thought 
in  the  revelation  which  God  has  made  to  man.  To  realize 
and  embody  it  in  the  work  of  redemption  is  the  richest  and 


A.  S.  HAYDEN. 


499 


loftiest  display  of  infinite  wisdom.  The  oracle  which  re- 
veals Jesus  Christ  as  ^  priest  on  a  throne  unfolds  more  fully 
than  any  other  the  counsels  which  originated  man's  recov- 
ery. It  sets  him  forth  in  the  highest  possible  glory,  com- 
bining the  royalty  with  the  priesthood — a  kingly  priest,  a 
sacerdotal  monarch,  ruling  the  universe  in  reference  to  the 
salvation  of  the  human  race.  Consider  attentively  the 
whole  passage:  "He  shall  bear  the  glory;  and  shall  sit 
and  rule  upon  his  throne;  and  he  shall  be  a  priest  upon 
his  throne:  andthe  counsel  of  peace  shall  be  between  them 
both."  (Zech.  vi :  13.)  Peace  to  the  soul  comes  from  both 
the  royalty  and  the  priesthood.  Both  offices  are  united  in 
him  who  bears  the  glory,  and  who  sits  and  rules,  a  priest, 
upon  his  throne. 

Now,  CONSCIENCE  discems  the  right.  Without  this 
power,  or  faculty,  man  would  be  incapable  of  any  discern- 
ment of  moral  reftitude.  Conscience  is  the  moral  eye  of 
the  soul — an  eye  single  to  righteousness.  Then  the  con- 
ne6lion-level  between  God  and  man  is  where  conscience 
apprehends  God's  righteousness.  The  Gospel,  as  a  sys- 
tem of  justification,  reveals  God's  righteousness — that  is, 
his  system  of  justification — through  and  by  the  cross. 
And  it  is  no  less  its  purpose  to  establish  God's  righteous- 
ness, while  he  stoops  to  recover  and  save  the  sinner,  than 
'it  is  to  bring  salvation  to  man,  who  \s  justly  condemned  in 
his  sins.  It  deserves  emphatic  mention,  that  the  complete- 
ness of  the  work  of  salvation  is  not  accomplished  until  the 
conscience  sees  the  Divine  justice  displayed  equally  with 
God's  mercy,  and  feels  satisfied  in  the  glorious  work  of  re- 
storing sinful  man  to  a  state  of  pardon,  acceptance,  and 
holiness.  Then  the  justified  sinner  rests,  for  he  is  recon- 
ciled. Then  he  is  satisfied,  for  he  sees  the  ground  of  im- 
mutable security  in  the  justice  of  God — the  very  founda- 


500 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


tion  of  his  throne.  Then  he  can  understand  that  justice, 
as  well  as  mercy,  is  his  friend,  and  offers  him  pardon.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  holy  apostle  says :  "  If  we  confess  our  sins, 
he  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse 
us  from  all  unrighteousness."  (i  John  i:  9.) 

We  see  that  conscience  is  the  link  of  communion  be- 
tween man  and  God  in  the  highest  development  of  the 
Christian  religion.  It  is  the  avenue  through  which  flow 
into  the  soul  all  the  high,  reconciling,  and  exalting  senti- 
ments which  are  awakened  by  God's  justice,  holiness,  and 
truth — powers  which  secure  to  the  soul  its  firmest  trust, 
and  kindle  to  flames  the  feelings  of  praise,  devotion,  and 
adoration. 

Nature  and  Subordinate  Position  of  Conscience. 

Conscience  is  neither  innate,  in  the  sense  of  a  perfe6l 
guide  of  itself — an  image  or  representative  of  God  in  the 
soul — as  some  imagine,  to  prompt  and  guide,  always  infal- 
libly, in  the  right  way;  nor  yet  is  it  the  "creature  of  edu- 
cation " — an  expression  very  faulty,  and  of  uncertain  sound. 
In  respedl  of  the  first  position,  those  who  believe  in  in- 
nate total  depravity  can  not  believe  it;  for  then  would  there 
be  at  least  one  power  or  faculty,  and  that  a  moral  power, 
which,  so  far  from  being  totally  depraved,  would  not  be 
depraved  at  all !  Nor  can  any  refle6ting  person  believe  it, 
who  considers  the  infinitely  differing  and  conflidling  decis- 
ions which  conscience,  as  a  judge,  is  making  in  precisely 
the  same  cases.  And  in  respeft  to  the  second  position, 
that  conscience  is  the  creature  of  education,  it  may  be  suffi- 
cient to  remark,  that  education  creates  no  faculty.  There 
must  be  some  thing  to  be  educated  before  education  can 
commence  its  work.  It  is  time  this  loose  style  of  speech 
were  abandoned. 


A.  S.  HAYDEN. 


501 


Conscience,  then,  is  a  faculty  or  power  among  the  orig- 
inal endowments  implanted  in  us  by  the  Creator;  not  to 
take  the  place  of  God  in  the  heart,  but  it  rejoices  in  its 
dependency,  and  looks  up  with  reverential  humility  for 
the  word  and  will  of  God  to  prompt  all  its  impulses  and 
guide  in  all  its  decisions.  No  one  of  all  our  faculties  is 
so  prompt  as  conscience,  when  in  a  healthy  state,  to  re- 
spond to  the  Divine  appeals,  and  to  say,  in  the  language 
of  Samuel,  "Speak,  for  thy  servant  heareth."  More  than 
this,  it  seems  to  be  intrusted  with  a  subordinate  domin- 
ion, a  viceroyalty,  to  summon  to  duty  the  whole  garrison 
of  our  moral  powers,  to  keep  them  in  the  line,  armed  and 
equipped,  ready  for  defense,  or  for  invasion  upon  the  en- 
emies of  the  Supreme  Sovereign. 

Conscience  is  an  eye;  but  the  eye  needs  light.  The 
best  eye  discerns  nothing  in  darkness.  Conscience  with- 
out a  guide  is  Sampson  without  eyes.  It  must  be  led;  it 
wants  a  hand  to  lead  it  to  the  pillars.  There  is  no  clearer 
example  of  the  confusion  yet  prevailing  in  Christendom, 
than  is  found  in  the  strangely  inconsistent  views  enter- 
tained on  the  question  of  the  supremacy  of  conscience. 
While  it  is  a  faculty  in  our  nature,  like  all  other  faculties 
in  man,  it  needs  illumination.  Or,  to  accept  the  definition 
which  Locke  gives  of  conscience,  "  The  power  of  judging 
of  the  reftitude  or  the  pravity  of  our  own  aftions,"  it  is 
still  manifest  that,  as  rediitude  has  respedl  to  right  rule, 
and  pravity  implies  a  departure  from  one,  conscience  needs 
a  rule,  or  standard  of  judgment.  If  she  "accuses,"  her 
accusation  must  rest  on  fadl  and  law.  If  she  "witnesses," 
her  testimony  relates  to  conformity  to  a  right  rule,  or  to 
derelidion  and  disobedience.  The  conclusion  is  plain, 
that  there  must  be  a  rule  or  standard  for  every  a£l  of  con- 
science. 


502 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


The  Romanist  has  his  rule  of  conscience — the  creed  and 
practices  of  the  Romish  Church.  Compliance  with  that 
rule  satisfies  his  conscience.  But  the  Greek  Christian's 
conscience  would  never  be  satisfied  with  the  Romish  rule. 
The  Musselman's  conscience  conforms  to  the  Koran. 
Thus  consciences  differ  as  the  standards  differ  throughout 
the  multiform  variety  of  rules  which  men  have  adopted. 
As— 

"Education  forms  the  common  mind," 

SO,  in  a  very  emphatic  sense,  the  religious  teaching  which 
a  man  adopts  becomes,  invariably,  his  conscience-standard. 

It  is  assumed  throughout  this  discourse,  and  ought  to 
be,  doubtless,  in  all  sound  reasoning,  that  while  conscience 
is  the  supreme  moral  guide  in  us,  its  didtates  and  decisions 
are  neither  different  from  the  light  we  possess,  nor  beyond 
it.  A  good  conscience,  in  the  sense  of  one  faithful  to  its 
moral  convidions,  will  ad  unfailingly  in  harmony  with  the 
moral  bias  of  its  possessor.  From  these  reasonings  the 
following  propositions  appear  to  flow: 

1.  Conscience  refle6ts,  or  uses  executively,  the  degree 
and  charader  of  instru6lion  the  possessor  of  it  has  received. 

2.  If  his  teaching  be  erroneous,  conscience  will  be  tainted 
with  the  same  error,  and  to  the  same  extent. 

3.  If  the  instrudion  be  from  the  Word  of  God,  it  will 
be  correal,  and  conscience  will  give  a  corredl  testimony. 

4.  Conscience  is  not  an  infallible  guide,  unless  it  be  in- 
fallibly led. 

5.  But  the  Divine  revelation  is  such  an  infallible  guide, 
by  which  the  conscience,  when  duly  instrufted,  is  infallibly 
led;  which,  in  turn,  leads  man  infallibly  by  the  knowledge 
of  God. 


A.  S.  HAYDEN. 


Conscience  belongs  only  to  Man. 

While  it  is  the  highest  of  our  faculties,  linking  us  to  the 
Creator  through  the  highest  display  of  his  revelation,  his 
eternal  holiness,  it  is  worthy  of  special  remark,  that  con- 
science is  a  faculty  which  pertains  to  man  alone.  Some 
of  the  lower  orders  of  animals  seem  to  share  with  him  in 
at  least  a  semblance  of  the  intelledlual  powers,  as  also  in 
some  of  the  moral  qualities  possessed  by  men.  Some  of 
them  manifest  a  degree  of  fidelity  in  their  attachment  very 
touching  and  almost  human.  Some  of  the  knowing  capac- 
ities appear,  in  measure,  to  shine  among  some  of  them. 
But  while  there  is  an  overlapping  of  certain  affedlions  and 
capacities  between  man  and  the  irrational  creation,  it  is  ap- 
parent that  those  affeilions  and  capacities  are  possessed  in 
the  strongest  degree  which  are  of  the  lower  grade.  As  we 
rise  in  the  scale,  as  respedls  the  nature  of  the  qualities  thus 
mutually  possessed,  they  become  dim  and  weak  in  them, 
till  man  is  left  alone  in  the  supremacy  and  enjoyment  of 
all  the  higher  grade.  Animals  have  strong  affedions — a 
mere  dim  refledion  of  intelledl — and  no  conscience.  Thus 
it  is  equally  shown  that  man  is  supreme  in  excellence  on 
the  earth;  and  also  that  conscience  is  supreme  among 
and  over  all  the  grand  endowments  implanted  in  us  by  the 
Creator, 

It  is  man's  moral  personality — without  it,  no  moral  char- 
acter. As  is  his  conscience,  so  is  his  charader.  Charadler 
and  conscience  are  correlates.  The  one  is  the  embodiment 
of  the  other.  Conscience  forms  charadler,  and  charadler  is 
the  index  of  conscience.  Men  differ,  all  things  considered, 
in  moral  charadler,  according  to  the  differences  in  their  con- 
sciences. Here  is  the  point  of  observation  from  which  to 
study  the  pictures  men  are  making.    Every  man  assumes 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


his  own  attitude  and  position — works  on  the  canvas  from 
his  own  angle.  He  colors  and  shades  according  to  the 
moral  hue  and  force  of  his  conscience.  Whatever  else 
enters  into  the  dye  wherein  he  dips  his  brush,  conscience 
is  the  background,  shading  all,  setting  all  in  prominence 
or  relief. 

Susceptibility  of  Cultivation. 

Conscience  is  susceptible  of  greater  cultivation  than  any 
other  of  our  powers.  It  is  also  capable  of  a  greater  de- 
gree of  depravity.  In  this  man  is  equal  unto  the  angels, 
and  a  companion  also  of  demons.  Delegable  above  all 
things  of  beauty  is  a  well-educated  and  upright  conscience, 
ruling  like  an  empress,  and  regulating  with  equity  and 
prudence  the  whole  empire  of  the  soul.  Here  is  perfec- 
tion—the only  perfedlion  of  which  man  is  capable.  Every 
intellectual  power  and  moral  quality  in  his  nature  is  sus- 
ceptible of  indefinite,  almost  limitless,  improvement;  but 
this  alone  may  reach  absolute  perfection.  Conscience  may 
prompt  perfect  obedience  to  a  perfedt  law,  for  conscience, 
like  an  architect,  works  by  rule;  but  the  power  to  obey 
may  be  far  in  the  rear  of  the  perfedt  intention.  Here  a 
conflict  ensues  between  the  demands  of  the  will,  which  re- 
quires perfect  obedience,  and  the  tardy  passions,  which  are 
untrained  and  rebellious.  Conscience  mourns  to  find  the 
obedience  so  far  behind  her  standard.  She  rallies  her  forces, 
chides  delays,  reproves,  admonishes,  and  tries  every  means 
to  bring  the  recusant  "members"  to  duty.  Sometimes 
she  makes  us  cry  out  in  despair:  "O,  wretched  man  that 
I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?" 
This  was  her  forlorn  hope  all  along  under  the  law.  Thus 
do  we  understand  Paul  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  Romans: 
"  For  to  will  is  present  with  me,  but  how  to  perform  that 


A.  S.  HAYDEN. 


which  is  good  I  find  not."  Conscience  sought  and  prompt- 
ed the  right  way.  It  was  good  in  its  impulse  and  decision; 
but  the  power  to  control  the  refradlory  members,  the  aid 
to  the  obedience  it  demanded,  was  not  in  the  law.  But 
when  the  needed  aid  appeared,  the  Gospel,  with  its  blessed 
hope,  its  cheerful  and  free  spirit,  its  assurance  of  pardon, 
and  its  gracious  mercy,  the  relieved  conscience  exultingly 
exclaimed :  "  Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  vidory, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  (Rom.  vii:  24,  25.) 

The  Court  of  Conscience. 

The  offices  of  conscience  appear,  in  the  light  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  to  be  summarily  as  follows: 

I.  It  ad;s  as  an  accuser.  "  Being  convidled  by  their  con- 
science, they  went  out  one  by  one."  (John  viii:  9.) 

1.  It  is  a  witness.  "  Their  conscience  also  bearing  wit- 
ness." (Rom.  ii:  15.)  Also  (chapter  ix:  i),  "  My  con- 
conscience  also  bearing  me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
'Our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimony  of  our  conscience." 
(2  Cor.  1 :  12.) 

3.  It  is  a  judge  or  arbitrator  in  morals.  "Why  is  my 
liberty  judged  of  another  man's  conscience."  (i  Cor. 
x:  29.)  "Commending  ourselves  to  every  man's  con- 
science in  the  sight  of  God."  (2  Cor.  iv:  2.)  See  also 
I  John  iii :  20,  where,  under  another  term,  the  same  notion 
of  an  arbitrator  among  our  moral  powers  is  distindly  as- 
serted :  "If  our  heart  condemn  us,  God  is  greater  than  our 
heart,  and  knoweth  all  things." 

The  word  of  God  speaks  of  a  "good  conscience." 
That  is  good  which  fully  and  constantly  answers  the  ends 
of  its  creation.  The  conscience  that  is  healthy  and  vigor- 
ous, adling  spontaneously  and  without  bias,  receiving  no 


5o6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


bribe — which  is  tender,  quick,  and  true — is  a  good  con- 
science. 

There  is,  also,  an  evil  conscience.  A  conscience  is  evil 
when  it  refuses  service,  or  is  incapable  of  duty;  or  when  it 
has  been  trifled  with  till  it  has  become  callous  and  past 
feeling.  Of  some,  it  is  said  their  conscience  is  seared  as 
with  a  hot  iron.  The  flesh,  when  thus  seared,  is  insensate. 
This  is  a  strong  figure,  and  of  easy  understanding  in  its 
application  to  the  conscience.  It  has  lost  its  sensibility. 
It  no  longer  files  in  its  accusation.  It  no  longer  arbitrates 
in  the  great  questions  of  duty.  Such  persons  are  hope- 
lessly lost,  as  it  is  only  through  the  conscience  the  soul  can 
be  reached. 

A  conscience  may  be  weak,  and  yet  good.  It  may  be 
watchful — even  over-careful  to  avoid  the  wrong.  Its  ten- 
sion may  be  high  through  mere  delicacy.  Such  a  conscience 
demands  the  tenderest  treatment.  No  greater  mistake,  or 
more  painfully  serious  in  its  consequences,  is  committed 
by  pastors  and  elders  of  churches,  than  to  disregard  the  cases 
under  their  care  of  overwrought  tenderness  of  conscience. 
Some  of  the  purest  and  most  delicate  souls — of  highest 
and  acutest  sensitiveness,  yet  sincere  to  the  last  degree — 
are  bluntly  addressed  and  coarsely  treated  by  persons  in- 
capable of  appreciating  them.  They  languish  for  relief  on 
some  troublesome  case  of  duty  omitted,  or  some  adl  per- 
formed. They  sigh  in  darkness,  and  long  for  some  one 
to  whom  they  may  commit  freely  their  troubles.  Here, 
thou  spiritual  adviser,  here  be  thy  skill  displayed.  To 
trifle  here  is  to  ruin  a  soul.  The  slightest  contempt  may 
sink  their  remaining  hope  immeasurable  fathoms  down 
into  the  depths  of  the  most  dismal  despair.  It  is  painfully 
certain  that  this  class  of  scrupulous  sufferers  are  in  most 


A.  S.  HAYDEN. 


of  the  churches,  and  none  with  eye  to  discern,  heart  to 
appreciate,  or  tongue  to  relieve  them. 

An  evil  conscience  also  exists  when  its  possessor  feels  a 
sense  of  unpardoned  guilt.  It  differs  from  a  defiled  con- 
science. An  evil  conscience,  in  the  sense  here  considered, 
carries  the  convidion  of  guilt.  It  is  penitent,  but  unpar- 
doned. A  defiled  conscience  is  corrupt,  impure,  impeni- 
tent. A  pure  conscience  is  free  from  the  consciousness  of 
sins  cherished.  A  good  conscience,  as  here  spoken  of,  is 
free  from  a  sense  of  guilt. 

Here  a  distindlion  of  great  importance  may  be  men- 
tioned between  the  change  of  heart  and  the  forgiveness  of 
sins — two  states  of  the  heart,  or  conscience  (for  sometimes 
these  terms  may  be  used  interchangeably)  which  are  fre- 
quently confounded.  When  the  heart  is  changed,  the  con- 
science is  purged  from  defilement;  the  heart  is  purified  of 
its  love  of  sin;  it  delights  in  holiness;  and  in  its  recon- 
ciliation it  cries  out,  with  Saul,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do?"  The  conscience  is  now  pure.  It  longs 
for  the  pardon  of  the  sins  which  it  now  mourns.  In  other 
words,  to  that  state  of  heart,  corredly  termed  dL  pure  con- 
science, is  now  to  be  added  the  joy  of  that  state  called  in 
Scripture  a.  good  conscience — one  made  free  from  guilt  by 
forgiveness.  Then  a  change  of  heart  prepares  the  sinner 
for  pardon;  and  the  knowledge  of  pardon,  obtained  in 
obedience  to  the  Gospel,  clothes  him  with  a  good  con- 
science, "through  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ." 

A  few  passages  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  considered  to- 
gether, throw  much  light  on  this  part  of  the  subjed:.  We 
introduce  merely  the  sentences  to  be  considered,  request- 
ing the  reader  to  examine  them  carefully  in  their  connec- 
tion. 


5o8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Hebrew  ix:  14:  "Purge  your  conscience  from  dead 
works." 

Hebrew  x:  2:  "Worshipers  once  purged  should  have 
no  more  conscience  of  sins." 

Hebrew  x:  22:  "Hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  con- 
science." 

I  Peter  iii:  21:   "Answer  of  a  good  conscience." 

From  a  careful  study  and  comparison  of  these  passages, 
the  following  remarks  appear  to  be  plain  and  pertinent: 

I  St.  An  evil  conscience  is  one  that  feels  the  sense  of 
guilt.  The  worshipers  under  the  law  were  never  relieved 
of  that  burden.  Paul  argues  that  if  they  had  enjoyed  that 
freedom  from  sirr  their  offerings  would  not  have  been  re- 
peated. (Heb.  x:  2.)  And,  from  verse  22,  we  learn  that 
the  relief,  or  sense  of  pardon  which  they  sought,  and  for 
which  the  offerings  of  the  law  were  inadequate,  was  gained 
through  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ;  and 
that  unpardoned  state  of  heart  is  there  called  an  '■'■evil 
conscience."  Then,  an  evil  conscience  is  a  guilty  con- 
science; and  a  good  conscience  is  one  which  has  been  re- 
lieved from  that  guilt  by  a  knowledge  of  pardon. 
■  2d.  That  the  law  was  unable  to  confer  that  blessing. 
"It  is  impossible  for  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  to  take 
away  sins."  "Every  priest  standeth  daily  ministering, 
and  offering  oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices,  which  can  never 
make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect  as  pertaineth  to  the  con- 
science." "The  worshipers  once  purged  should  have  no 
more  conscience  of  sins."  (Heb.  x.)  Then  the  unspeak- 
able joy  of  sins  forgiven,  a  conscience  which  witnessed  to 
its  possessor  to  the  ad  of  forgiving  mercy,  which  pro- 
nounced a  full  and  formal  absolution  from  the  guilt  of 
sin,  was  a  blessing  to  which  the  Jewish  heart  was  a  stran- 
ger— a  blessing  enjoyed  only  by  the  sons  of  God  under 


A.  S.  H^VVDEN. 


[esus  Christ.  And  hence  the  accompanying  spirit  of  adop- 
tion belongs,  as  Paul  shows  extensively  elsewhere,  only 
to  Christians,  to  the  members  of  the  new  covenant. 

3d.  That  what  the  law  could  not  do  in  this  respedl,  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  doth  fully  and  happily  accomplish. 
"  How  n\uch  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  through 
the  Eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God, 
purge  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  liv- 
ing God."  (Heb.  ix:  14.)  "Let  us  draw  near  to  God 
with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith,  having  our 
heart  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies 
washed  with  pure  water."  (Heb.  x:  22.)  This  forgiveness 
is  neither  typical  nor  formal,  merely,  but  adlual;  so  that 
the  worshipers,  once  purged,  have  no  more  conscience  of  sins. 
And  the  consequence  of  this  blessing  is  the  enjoyment  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which,  as  sons  of  God,  we  now  receive; 
being  adopted  as  the  sons  and  daughters  of  a  Holy  Father. 
And  thus  we  become  the  adopted  brothers  of  the  "only- 
begotten  Son,"  and  share  the  honors  and  joys  of  the  Di- 
vine family.  Christians  should,  then,  not  go  mourning 
all  their  days,  but  lift  up  their  heads  and  rejoice  in  hope, 
and  be  careful  to  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  with  which 
they  are  called. 

4th.  That  this  sense  of  relief,  or  knowledge  of  pardon, 
is  conveyed  intentionally  and  formally  to  the  converted 
sinner  in  baptism,  through  the  promise  which  the  merci- 
ful Savior  vouchsafes  to  those  who  obey  him.  Thus  the 
sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  washing 
of  the  body  in  pure  water  are  associated.  (Heb.  x:  22.) 
And  the  seeking  of  a  good  conscience  and  baptism  are 
connected  for  the  same  purpose,  through  the  resurredlion 
of  Jesus  Christ,  who  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on 
the  tree,  and  who  rose  the  third  day  for  our  justification. 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


The  Freedom  of  the  Conscience. 

The  language  of  the  Apostle  Paul  may  be  justly  adopted 
and  applied  here :  " I  am  free  from  all  men."  And  again: 
"Not  without  law  to  God."  This  expresses  accurately, 
and  with  high  authority,  the  nature  of  the  freedom  which 
of  right  belongs  to  the  conscience.  It  is  too  sacred  for 
man  to  interfere  with.  It  is  man's  own  moral  person- 
ality. Into  this  sandluary  he  retires  to  settle  his  accounts 
with  his  God,  and  prepare  for  the  judgment;  a  business 
too  awful  and  too  peculiarly  his  own  to  admit  of  any  in- 
termeddling from  without.  A  "hitherto  shalt  thou  come, 
and  no  farther,"  peremptorily  forbids  the  approach  of  any 
third  party. 

Of  very  necessity,  and  of  its  own  inalienable  right,  the 
conscience  is  and  must  be  free.  The  moment  it  is  co- 
erced or  compelled,  it  is  destroyed.  No  indignity  so  great 
can  be  offered  to  human  nature.  The  surrender  of  this 
right  is  the  surrender  of  our  highest  manhood,  and  the 
holiest  prerogative  of  our  nature.  Half  the  wars,  revo- 
lutions, and  convulsions  of  society  have  come  from  the 
exacting  and  unnatural  attempts  of  some  power  in  acci- 
dental supremacy  to  didlate  law  to  the- conscience.  Bless 
God  for  the  liberation  of  men  from  the  terrors  of  the  auto 
da  fe,  the  impious  cruelties  of  the  Star  Chamber,  and  the 
awful  and  diabolical  tyrannies  of  the  Inquisition.  The 
sufferings  of  the  million,  who,  dying  in  prison,  in  exile, 
or  by  torture,  are  the  impressive  and  emphatic  protest  of 
God's  martyr  host  against  the  enormous  wrong. 

"No  martyrs  now!  "  Not  quite,  perhaps,  but  nearly. 
Read  with  inward  thought.  The  church  requires  its  pastor 
to  preach  the  prevailing  "dodrines"  embodied  in  its  com- 
pend  of  the  faith.    He  failing  in  the  imposed  obligation, 


A.  S.  HAYDEN. 


5" 


they  place  him  under  the  ban  of  silence,  cut  off  supplies  from 
his  table,  or  make  him  so  uncomfortable  in  his  position  that 
he  is  forced  to  depart  hence.  Or  they  open  upon  him  the 
thunders  of  the  higher  anathema.  So,  held  in  "durance 
vile,"  under  the  threats,  very  significantly  suggested,  of  a 
withdrawal  of  support,  or  removal  from  office,  or,  it  may 
be,  expulsion  from  church  communion,  he  stifles  con- 
science, sells  his  manhood,  and  ceases  from  that  hour  to 
be  God's  free  man.  Is  his  conscience  free?  It  may  not 
be  the  sublime,  ex-cathedra  denunciations  of  the  Vatican, 
but  the  equally  arrogant  and  illiberal  decisions  of  the  ses- 
sion or  the  presbytery. 

In  many  ways  the  conscience  is  held  in  chains.  The 
spirit  of  bigotry  and  dogmatic  intolerance  still  prevails. 
The  cry,  "  He  followeth  not  with  us,"  still  goes  up  to  the 
Master's  ears,  and  calls  for  vengeance  on  the  dissenting 
objeft  of  theological  odium.  The  confessional,  or  the  spir- 
itual court  of  death  awaits  non-conformity  to  the  reigning 
order  of  faith  and  pradlice.  The  viftims  of  this  dry,  blast- 
ing simoom  of  ecclesiastical  despotism  lie  thick  along  the 
highway  of  modern  church  history.  The  vid:im  of  Romish 
intolerance,  when  she  sought  to  make  laws  for  the  con- 
science, was  impaled,  eviscerated,  tortured ;  now  his  brother 
in  sufferings  is  scourged  with  the  cords  of  sarcasm,  has  the 
key  of  fellowship  turned  against  him,  or,  by  secret  man- 
agement, is  made  odious  to  "the  ele6t."  O,  when  will  the 
emancipation  of  conscience  be  complete?  When  will  this 
benign  power,  the  eye  of  Divinity  within  us,  be  disen- 
thralled from  every  incumbrance,  and  be  left  where  God 
left  it,  responsible  only  to  him? 

It  was  a  noble  utterance  of  the  assembly  of  divines  at 
Westminster,  which  they  made :  "  God  alone  is  Lord  of  the 
conscience."    (See  the  Presbyterian  Confession  of  Faith.) 


512 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


Our  government  is  the  only  known  government  which, 
looking  vigilantly  after  all  the  social  interests  of  the  people, 
has  ventured  on  the  responsible  and  untried  experiment 
of  letting  the  conscience  alone.  It  has  let  us  gloriously 
alone!     God  preserve  it  forever! 

'The  importance  of  appealing  to  the  Conscience  in  Conversion. 

The  Church  should  be  laid  in  righteousness.  A  scepter 
of  righteousness  is  the  scepter  of  Messiah's  kingdom.  So 
every  member  of  it  should  bow  with  an  intelligent  sur- 
render to  that  scepter.  It  is  not  doubted  nor  denied  that 
motives  which  appeal  to  the  sense  of  fear,  and  which  move 
the  soul  with  a  desire  of  safety  and  personal  salvation,  are 
legitimate.  More,  they  are  Scriptural.  "  Save  yourselves 
from  this  untoward  generation."  "Flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come."  "  Beware,  lest  that  come  upon  you  which  is 
written  in  the  prophets.  Behold,  ye  despisers,  and  won- 
der and  perish."  Many  such  are  in  the  Word  of  God. 
So  also  the  wide  range  of  motives  of  benevolence.  The 
goodness  of  God  invites  to  repentance.  Let  the  good- 
ness of  God,  then,  be  pressed  pointedly  and  eloquently. 
Yet  the  conscience  should  not  be  negledled.  It  should  be 
thoroughly  aroused  and  fully  enlightened.  Conversions 
would  be  more  thorough,  and  apostasies  fewer.  The  ex- 
cited fears  will  subside.  Impassioned  appeals  are  highly 
important;  but  follow  them  up  with  the  stronger  reasons 
which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  permanent  reformation. 

Many  appeals  for  conversion  by  partisan  pleaders  do 
but  corrupt  the  heart.  They  encourage  selfishness,  rather 
than  self-denial,  in  it.  Men  are  persuaded  to  come  in  be- 
cause they  are  of  use  to  the  Church.  They  have  talents. 
Their  influence  is  great,  and  many  are  looking  to  tnem. 
They  are  very  good  men  now,  and  need  nothing  to  com- 


A.  S.  HAYDEN. 


plete  their  charadter  but  the  Christian  profession.  Thus 
they  are  flattered,  coaxed,  besought  with  protestations  of 
friendship,  and  of  the  happiness  to  us  if  they  will  but  take 
their  place  with  us.  Ah !  the  desecration  of  the  Gospel ! 
Impious  flattery!  Does  Jesus  Christ  need  sinners  for  his 
sake  Do  they  not,  rather,  need  him  for  their  own  sake? 
It  is  shameful  to  set  the  Lord  begging  thus  for  followers. 
Thousands  have  been  "beat  up"  into  the  ranks  of  the 
Church  by  spirited  charges  upon  their  honor,  their  man- 
hood ;  their  bravery  has  been  challenged,  and  all  the  self- 
hood of  the  heart  aroused,  and  plied  dexterously  to  swell 
the  host  of  nominal  church-members.  Then  the  numbers 
were  carefully  footed  up  and  sent  forth  to  the  world  by 
bulletin,  herald,  and  proclamation.  Alas!  the  Church 
militant!  Wars  come  of  passion.  With  passion  and 
pride  untamed  and  unhumbled,  such  converts  quickly  re- 
lapse, or  remain  to  bear  the  bitter,  crabbed  fruits  of  such 
a  planting. 

Men  should  not  be  pressed  into  the  Church  faster,  or 
beyond  the  desires  of  their  own  repentant  hearts.  If  the 
preacher  would  not  have  his  work  prove  "wood,  hay,  and 
stubble,"  let  him  .see  to  it  that  he  apply  the  motives  which 
will  lead  the  soul  to  convidion  for  sins  ;  that  he  should 
make  chief  his  aim  to  lead  up  the  conscience  to  Christ, 
and  lay  the  crucified  Redeemer  in  the  conscience  of  the 
sinner. 

In  respedl  of  children,  this  is,  probably,  still  more  im- 
portant. How  admirable  and  worthy  of  all  imitation  the 
course  of  the  holy  apostle  :  "  Children,  obey  your  parents 
in  the  Lord;  for  this  is  right."  (Eph.  vi:  i.)  Note  well 
the  motive.  He  descends  not  to  the  plane  of  selfishness. 
He  lifts  the  heart  of  pliant  childhood  quite  up  to  the 
highest  of  motives.  "It  is  right."  He  touches  and  teaches 
33 


5H 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  conscience.  Here  is  a  lesson  deserving  the  careful 
study  of  teachers  and  preachers,  and,  above  all,  of  parents, 
whose  office  in  this  behalf  can  not  be  alienated  from  them, 
nor  delegated  to  any  other  person  whatever. 

Motives  form  chara6ler.  Then  lay  the  foundations 
aright.  Many  lives  are  false  throughout,  not  because  their 
course  of  aftion  is  evil  or  erroneous,  but  because  the  mo- 
tives are  all  wrong  from  which  flow  the  adtions  of  such 
lives.  Multitudes  are  never  undeceived  by  others.  They 
never  detedl  the  fundamental  error  themselves,  and  their 
whole  life  is  a  well-managed  deception,  with  nothing  in  it 
of  Christ,  of  sacrifice,  of  self-sacrifice,  of  self-abnegation, 
of  self-devotion.  "  I  am  crucified  with  Christ ;  never- 
theless I  live :  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God  liveth  in 
me.  And  the  life  which  I  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the 
faith  of  the  Son  of  God  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself 
for  me."  (Gal.  ii :  20.) 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


np OLBERT  FANNING  was  born  in  Cannon  County,  Tennessee, 
May  lo,  1810.  When  he  was  eight  years  of  age,  his  parents  moved 
to  Lauderdale  County,  Alabama,  and  he  remained  in  that  State  until  he  was 
nineteen.  His  father  was  a  planter,  on  a  small  scale,  and  young  Tolbert 
was  brought  up  mainly  in  the  cotton  field.  He  was  allowed  to  attend 
school  from  three  to  six  months  in  a  year,  'and  it  was  his  good  fortune  to 
be  placed  under  the  care  of  excellent  teachers.  He  soon  became  fond  of 
study,  and  made  considerable  progress  in  acquiring  the  rudiments  of  an  edu- 
cation. At  this  time,  his  father,  though  highly  respedted  in  his  county  as 
an  honorable  gentleman,  was  not  a  member  of  any  church,  but  his  mother 
was  an  Old  Virginia  Baptist,  and  a  woman  of  fine  intelledl  and  great  purity 
of  life.  From  her,  and  from  Baptist,  Methodist,  and  Presbyterian  preachers, 
whom  he  occasionally  heard,  he  received  his  early  religious  instruction. 
At  times  his  young  heart  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  a  re- 
ligious life;  but  he  was  taught  that  "all  men  are  in  a  state  of  total  darkness, 
and  must  remain  so  till  illuminated  by  special  communications  of  the  Spirit." 
From  the  time  he  was  ten  years  of  age  he  had  read  the  Bible,  but  supposed 
he  could  not  understand  a  word  in  it  without  a  special  illumination  from 
above.  Seven  precious  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  this  gloomy  and 
hopeless  condition.  When  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  began  to  pay  atten- 
tion to  the  preaching  of  Ephraim  D.  Moore  and  James  E.  Mathews,  who 
called  themselves  Christian  preachers,  and  were  great  and  good  men.  From 
their  teaching,  he  was  encouraged  to  read  the  New  Testament,  with  the 
view  of  really  acquiring  spiritual  light.  Soon  all  was  plain,  and  his  gloomy 
doubts  gave  place  to  an  intelligent  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  About 
the  first  of  Odober,  1827,  he  attended  a  meeting  on  Cypress,  seven  miles 
north  of  Florence,  Alabama,  and  heard  James  E.  Mathews  preach  a  mas- 
terly discourse  on  the  Gospel  and  its  Conditions,  and,  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  discourse,  he  walked  forward,  and,  with  a  perfeft  understanding  of  the 
truth,  made  the  confession,  and  was  immediately  immersed  into  Christ. 
The  next  two  years  were  spent  chiefly  in  studying  the  Scriptures,  at- 

(515) 


5i6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


tending  school,  and  visiting  the  brethren  in  Alabama  and  Tennessee.  On 
the  first  day  of  Oftober,  by  the  advice  of"  the  Church  at  Republican,  where 
he  made  the  confession,  he  bade  adieu  to  his  family,  for  the  purpose  of  try- 
ing to  preach  the  Gospel.  Though  young  and  inexperienced,  such  was 
his  earnestness  and  zeal,  and  such  the  power  of  the  truth  which  he 
preached,  that  every-where  thousands  attended  his  meetings,  and  large 
numbers  were  brought  into  the  kingdom. 

In  November,  1831,  he  entered  the  Nashville  University,  and  gradu- 
ated in  1835.  During  his  college  course,  he  preached  considerable  at  dif- 
ferent points  in  Tennessee,  and  made  a  tour  with  Brother  A.  Campbell 
to  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  While  at  Perryville,  Kentucky,  he  held  a  suc- 
cessful debate  with  a  Methodist  pteacher  by  the  name  of  Rice. 

In  1836,  he  spent  the  spring  and  summer  in  a  preaching  tour,  with 
Brother  A.  Campbell,  through  Ohio,  New  York,  Canada,  New  England, 
and  the  Eastern  cities.  In  1837,  he  was  married  to  Charlotte  Fall,  and, 
the  same  year,  opened  a  female  seminary  in  Eranklin,  Tennessee.  On  the 
first  day  of  January,  1840,  he  removed  to  his  present  location,  five  miles 
from  Nashville,  and  condufted  a  female  school  till  1842,  when  he  spent 
most  of  the  year  in  a  successful  preaching  tour  through  Alabama  and  Mis- 
sissippi. In  18  1-3,  he  began  to  build  Franklin  College,  and,  in  Oftober, 
1844,  the  buildings  were  completed,  and  Tolbert  Fanning  was  elefted 
the  first  President  of  the  college.  In  1861,  he  resigned  the  Presidency 
to  W.  D.  Carnes,  President  of  the  East  Tennessee  University,  with  the 
view  of  raising  money  to  greatly  enlarge  the  institution ;  but  the  war  de- 
feated all  his  calculations,  and,  in  1865,  the  college  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
He  is  at  present  conducting  "  Hope  Institute,"  for  the  education  of  young 
ladies,  and  is  senior  editor  of  the  "Gospel  Advocate." 

Brother  Fanning's  life  has  been  one  of  great  aftivity.  He  has  been  an 
editor  for  twenty  years,  taught  school  for  nearly  the  same  length  of  time, 
and  traveled  and  preached  in  fifteen  States,  where  he  has  been  instrumental 
in  establishing  many  churches,  and  scattering  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom 
generally.  As  a  speaker,  he  is  remarkably  self-possessed,  and  presents  his 
points  in  a  logical  and  forcible  manner.  His  mental  and  physical  charac- 
teristics are  strongly  marked,  and  his  whole  organization  indicates  that  he 
is  a  man  of  strong  will,  great  physical  endurance,  and  powerful  intelledt. 


THE  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF 
CHRIST. 


BY  TOLBERT  FANNING. 


"Now  therefore  ye  are  no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow- 
citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God;  and  are  built  upon 
the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being 
the  chief  corner-stone;  in  whom  all  the  building,  fitly  framed  together, 
groweth  unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord :  in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  to- 
gether, for  a  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit." — Ephesians  ii :  19, 
20,  21,  22. 

TO  impress  the  heart  of  the  erring  with  the  wondrous 
truth  that  "  the  Church  of  Christ "  is  heaven's  di- 
vinely constituted  organization  for  the  salvation  of  the 
lost,  is  the  first  and  principal  labor  of  the  minister  of 
peace.  With  the  fervent  desire,  therefore,  that  I  may 
successfully  pidure  forth  this  incomparable  strudlure, 
in  colors  that  will  enable  sincere  inquirers  to  become 
"wise  unto  salvation,"  I  have  undertaken  the  present 
service. 

Plain  answers  to  a  few  very  simple  questions,  I  trust, 
will  embody  what  should  be  considered  the  most  valuable 
lessons  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  regarding  the  Church  and 
her  mission.  Let  us,  then,  prayerfully  and  earnestly  con- 
sider. 

(517) 


5i8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIl'. 


I.  Why  was  it  necessary  that  an  organization 

PROMISING  SALVATION  SHOULD  EXIST? 

Not  feeling  competent  to  look  into  the  hidden  things 
of  God,  I  am  not  sure  that  I  can  satisfy  the  speculative 
in  my  answer  to  this  momentous  question. 

We  know  not  why  God  did  not  create  a  different  world 
from  this,  or  that  any  creation  whatever  was  essential  to 
his  matchless  honor.  But  we  are  to  deal  with,  what  has 
been  revealed  in  the  Sacred  Oracles,  and  not  with  idle  con- 
jedlures.  Man,  who  had  been  created  sinless,  and  consti- 
tuted lord  of  the  earth,  hearkened  to  the  bewitching  rhet- 
oric of  the  seducer,  and,  in  stumbling  at  the  words  of 
wisdom,  fell,  and  was  delivered  over  to  the  buffetings  of 
the  usurper.  The  generations  of  four  thousand  years  had 
passed  from  earth  without  hope ;  the  government  of  the 
world,  in  consequence  of  sin,  had  been  delivered  to  Satan, 
and  man,  alienated  in  heart  from  his  Maker,  and  banished 
from  his  Eden-home  with  his  race,  yielded  undisputed 
loyalty  to  his  treacherous  leader.  Still,  God's  compassion 
to  his  creation  was  boundless ;  and  although  the- world  had 
sinned,  and  been  led  captive  by  the  devil  at  his  will,  our 
kind  Father,  in  great  wisdom  and  tenderest  love,  conde- 
scended to  offer  a  release  from  the  iron  grasp  of  the  de- 
stroyer, through  the  mediation  of  his  beloved  Son.  The 
rescue  was  determined,  and,  for  the  execution  of  the  grand 
purposes  of  heaven,  the  Son  of  his  love  was  sent,  with 
"glad  tidings  of  great  joy"  to  the  dying.  The  govern- 
ment of  Jehovah  having  been  put  at  defiance,  it  was  re- 
solved in  the  counsels  of  heaven  to  offer  release  to  death's 
captives  in  an  organization  at  war  with  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness. 

To  establish  this  institution  and  secure  eternal  redemp- 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


tion,  cost  the  sacrifice  of  God's  beloved  Son,  who  "made 
his  grave  with  the  wicked  in  his  death,"  but  who  rose  a 
triumphant  conqueror,  bearing  aloft  the  scepter  of  life  to 
a  sin-stricken  race.  In  this,  anxious  angels  could  see  how 
"  God  could  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  all  who  believe" 
and  seek  proteftion  under  the  mild  reign  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace.  The  simple  statement  that  God,  our  Father,  chose 
to  offer  salvation  to  a  lost  world  through  the  kingdom  of 
his  Son,  must  suffice  as  to  the  necessity  and  fitness  of  such 
an  institution,  and  I  therefore  inquire — 

II.    How,  WHERE,   AND   WHEN,    DID   THE    ChURCH  OF 

Christ  originate  ? 

It  is  not  only  mortifying,  but  exceedingly  humiliating, 
to  know  that,  in  the  nineteenth  century — in  "this  en- 
lightened age" — it  becomes  necessary  to  reply  to  such  in- 
quiries. In  reference  to  these  matters,  however,  there  are 
at  least  three  classes  of  inveterate  disputants. 

In  the  first,  we  find  those  who  possess  no  appreciable 
idea  of  such  an  organization  as  the  Church  of  the  First- 
born. They  speak,  to  be  sure,  of  "  the  invisible  king- 
dom within,"  and  regard  religion  as  mere  passion-feeling 
emotion,  which  we  are  to  "  seek  and  get,"  and,  indeed, 
which  may  be  lost  ;  but  which  depends  not  in  the  least 
upon  any  exercise  of  the  understanding  heart.  Spiritual 
life,  in  this  view,  is  but  an  abstra(5tion,  independent  of  all 
organizations  and  forms — is  merely  subjeftive,  not  objedl- 
ive,  and  churches  and  ordinances  but  hinder  the  free  oper- 
ation of  the  spirit  within. 

In  the  second  class  are  seen  such  as  hope  for  a  coming 
dispensation  of  mercy,  and  pray,  "Thy  kingdom  come." 
They  preach  a  dead  Gospel,  and  praftice  "forms  of  god- 
liness, but  deny  the  power."    The  idea  of  a  spiritual  body 


520 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


competent  to  save  from  sin,  and  qualify  the  saved  for  im- 
mortality, has  not  entered  their  hearts;  but  they  still  look 
for  a  Christ  to  divide  lands  and  govern  bloody  monar- 
chies. 

Those  of  the  third  class  maintain  that,  in  the  days  of 
the  apostles,  the  Church  was  built  upon  the  rock  laid  in 
Zion  ;  that  she  has  withstood  the  rough  waves  of  eighteen 
centuries  ;  and  that  she  will,  finally,  triumph  gloriously 
over  all  the  principalities  and  powers  of  earth. 

It  will  become  us  well  to  call  to  our  aid  the  prophets  of 
the  Old  Testament  in  regard  to  the  how"  of  the  Church's 
origin.  David,  the  king,  though  a  man  after  God's  own 
heart,  in  consequence  of  having  "shed  much  blood,"  was 
not  permitted  to  build  a  house  in  which  to  record  the 
name  of  his  Maker;  but  a  kind  Father  promised,  with  an 
oath:  "I  will  set  up  thy  seed  after  thee,  and  I  will  estab- 
lish the  throne  of  his  kingdom  forever."  (2  Sam.  vii:  12.) 
To  this  promise,  Solomon,  the  son  and  heir,  made  refer- 
ence, in  his  dedicatory  prayer,  of  the  house  which  he  built, 
(i  Kings  viii :  25,)  to  adumbrate  the  spiritual  temple  in 
David's  line,  of  which  it  is  written,  in  the  i32d  Psalm, 
"The  Lord  God  has  chosen  Zion  for  his  habitation." 

But  the  house  of  God  built  by  Solomon  has  gone  to 
decay,  and  David's  throne  is  no  longer  occupied  by  an 
earthly  descendant.  The  simple  and  only  question  now 
to  determine  is:  Does  Christ,  in  the  full  meaning  of  the 
prophecies,  sit  on  David's  throne,  or  is  he  to  ascend  it  at 
a  future  coming?  As  this  is  a  question  of  fadl,  our  appeal 
should  be  to  the  sacred  records  alone.  The  prophet,  in 
allusion  to  "a  child  born  and  a  son  given,"  declared  that 
"the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder:  and  of  its 
increase  there  shall  be  no  end  upon  the  throne  of  David, 
and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  and  establish  it,  from 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


521 


henceforth  even  forever."  (Isaiah  ix:  6-8.)  Again,  he 
said:  "In  mercy  shall  the  throne  be  established,  and  he 
shall  sit  upon  it  in  truth,  in  the  tabernacle  of  David." 
(Isaiah  xvi:  5.)  We  can  scarcely  imagine  that  any  one 
can  doubt  these  declarations  point  to  Christ  in  his  king- 
dom. By  another  prophet,  it  is  written:  "In  that  day 
I  will  raise  up  the  tabernacle  of  David  which  is  fallen." 
(Amos  ix:  11.)  This  passage  is  quoted  by  an  apostle,  in 
dired  reference  to  the  call  and  salvation  of  the  Gentiles 
by  Christ.  (Acts  xv:  16.)  Gabriel,  at  the  miraculous  con- 
ception, said  :  "  Fear  not,  Mary:  thou  shalt  bring  forth  a 
son,  Jesus,  and  the  Lord  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne 
of  his  father  David;  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Is- 
-ael,  and  of  his  kingdom  there^  shall  be  no  end."  (Luke 
1:  30.)  Zacharias,  in  quoting  the  ijid  Psalm,  applied 
the  words:  "The  Lord  God  has  raised  up  a  horn  of  sal- 
vation in  the  house  of  his  servant  David,"  diredily  to 
Christ.  (Luke  i:  69.)  But  Peter,  in  referring  to  the 
promise  to  David,  said:  "  God  hath  sworn  to  David  that, 
of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  he  would  raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on 
his  throne;"  and  added:  "This  Jesus  hath  God  raised 
up.  Therefore,  being  at  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted, 
he  hath  shed  forth  this  which  you  now  see  and  hear." 
(Acts  ii:  25.)  If  God  raised  up  Jesus  Christ  to  sit  on 
David's  throne,  and  crowned  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in 
the  heavens,  to  be  a  Prince  and  Savior,  we  can  see  no  room 
for  doubting  that  his  kingdom  was  established  as  pre- 
dided  by  the  prophets. 

But  David  himself,  at  the  ascension  of  Christ,  said: 
"  Lift  up  your'heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  let  the  king  of  glory 
come  in."  (Psalm  xxiv:  7.)  And  the  Father,  at  his  re- 
ception, announced  to  a  listening  and  anxious  world:  "I 
have  set  my  king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion."  More 


522 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


1 


upon  the  subjeft  of  Christ's  having  "raised  the  fallen  ; 

tabernacle  of  David,"  and  his  sitting  upon  his  throne,  we  i 

consider   would  be  quite  superfluous.     But  are  we  re-  .i 

quired  to  show  that  the  Church  and  kingdom  are  identi-  ^ 
cal?    Jesus  said:  "  On  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church," 

and,  with  the  word  still  hanging  upon  his  lips,  added,  "J  ; 

will  give  unto  thee  (Peter)  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  ' 

heaven."    Further  proof  of  the  identity  of  Church  and  \ 

kingdom  can  not  be  necessary.  j 

Having,  however,  diredled  sufficient  attention  to  ^Uhe  ] 

how"  the  Church  originated  in  the  line  of  David,  by  '• 

Christ's  raising  his  fallen  tabernacle,  and  ascending  Da-  \ 

vid's  throne,  when  crowned  by  the  Father,  it  will  be  req-  " 
uisite,  in  order  to  maintain  connexion,  to  notice  the 

when  and  the  where"  of  the  origin  of  this  spiritual  taber-  i 
nacle. 

•                         .                               .                       .  i 

To  the  prophets  we  must  again  appeal  for  light.  Daniel 

(ii :  44)  said:  "In  the  days  of  these  kings"  (in  the  days  ' 

of  the  kingdoms  represented  by  the  ten  horns  of  the  wild  : 

beast)  "the  God  of  Heaven  will  set  up  a  kingdom  that  1 
shall  never  be  destroyed.    It  shall  break  in  pieces,  and 

consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and  shall  stand  forever."  j 

John  the  Baptist  said:  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 

hand."    Jesus  Christ  repeated  these  words,  and  added:  ' 

"Pray  thy  kingdom  come;"  encouraged  his  disciples  to  ' 

"seek  the  kingdom,"  "knock  and  it  shall  be  opened;"  '\ 

and  said:  "  Fear  not,  little  flock,  it  is  your  Father's  good  ^ 
pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom."    To  Peter,  he  said: 
"  On  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church;"  and,  just  before 
he  suffered,  he  assured  his  disciples  that  "  there  were  some 
of  them  who  should  not  taste  of  death  till  they  should 

see  the  kingdom  of  God."  But  as  the  Father  kept  "  times  : 

and  seasons  "  to  himself,  neither  the  angels  of  Heaven  nor  \ 


I 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


5^3 


our  Lord  knew  the  day  on  which  the  tabernacle  would  be 
reared.  John  and  Jesus,  with  the  apostles,  had  been  pre- 
paring materials — making  ready  a  people  for  the  Lord's 
house;  but  till  the  ascension  it  had  not  been  reared.  Just 
before  he  left  his  disciples,  they  said:  "Lord,  restore 
the  kingdom  to  Israel."  "Go  to  Jerusalem,"  he  replied, 
"and  wait  for  the  Spirit  to  guide  you  into  all  truth." 

In  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  we  have  nothing 
of  the  existence  of  the  Church  but  in  promise.  But,  as 
to  place  and  time,  we  may  learn  an  important  lesson,  by 
reference  to  the  house  built  by  Solomon. 

The  materials  were  made  ready,  and,  when  brought  to- 
gether, the  edifice  rose  in  beauty  and  majesty,  without  the 
sound  of  a  hammer,  or  iron  instrument,  or  the  least  con- 
fusion. 

When  the  key  was  placed  in  the  arch,  "  the  glory  of 
God  filled  the  house,"  as  a  token  the  work  was  complete. 
The  preparation  of  materials,  bringing  them  together,  and 
rising  into  an  edifice,  with  such  perfedt  symmetry,  and  the 
overshadowing  glory,  all  pointed  most  significantly  to  the 
temple  to  be  reared  by  Christ  as  David's  son.  Still,  the 
kingdom  was  not  to  be  seen  ;  it  was  not  to  come  by  "ob- 
servation," but  was  to  rise  miraculously.  The  materials 
were  prepared,  were  condufted  to  Jerusalem,  whence  "the 
word  of  the  Lord  was  to  go  out,"  and  the  disciples  hav- 
ing assembled,  the  Spirit  descended.  Peter,  by  the  Spir- 
it's diftion,  delivered  the  law  ;  three  thousand  submitted 
upon  the  first  hearing,  and  were  added  to  the  one  hundred 
and  twenty,  and,  altogether,  they  constituted  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ;  and,  for  the  first  time,  it  is  said  "The 
saved  were  daily  added  to  the  Church."  (Ads  ii :  47). 

Hence,  Jerusalem  was  the  chosen  site  of  the  heavenly 
te^-ple;  and  the  first  Pentecost,  after  the  resurredion  of 


524 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  Messiah,  was  the  day  upon  which  the  Church  was 
planted.  Peter,  indeed,  called  it  "the  beginning."  Be- 
ginning of  what  ?  The  Christian  dispensation  ?  The 
middle  wall  of  partition  had  been  taken  down  from 
between  Jews  and  Gentiles  ;  the  door  of  faith  had  been 
opened  to  the  Jews  on  Pentecost,  and  the  remaining  key 
was  employed  in  opening  the  temple  to  the  Gentiles,  some 
seven  years  after,  at  the  house  of  Cornelius,  and  the  work 
being  finished,  the  Lord  proclaimed  the  door  open,  which 
men  could  not  shut.  As  further  evidence  that  the  king- 
dom now  exists,  we  may  add  a  few  plain  passages  of  New 
Testament  Scripture. 

Paul  declared  that  the  Colossians  "had  been  delivered 
from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  translated  into  the  king- 
dom of  God's  dear  Son."  (Col.  i:  13.)  How  this  transi- 
tion from  the  power  of  darkness  into  the  kingdom  could 
have  taken  place  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  if  the  king- 
dom is  yet  in  the  future,  we  really  think  no  man  can  ex- 
plain. 

To  the  Hebrews  he  said:  "Ye  have  come  to  Mount 
Zion,  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born,  who 
are  written  in  heaven;"  and  adds:  "Wherefore,  we  re- 
ceiving a  kingdom  which  can  not  be  moved,  let  us  have 
grace  whereby  we  may  serve  God  acceptably."  (Hebrews 
xii :  22-a8.) 

Again,  he  said  :  "  God  hath  called  you  into  his  king- 
dom and  glory."  (i  Thess.  ii  :  13.) 

The  beloved  John  addressed  the  saints  in  the  seven 
Asiatic  churches  as  "his  companions  in  tribulation,  and 
in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ."  (Rev.  i:  9.) 

More  testimony  to  show  how,  when,  and  where  the 
Church  arose,  the  identity  of  Church  and  kingdom,  and 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


the  present  existence  of  the  spiritual  temple,  it  occurs  to 
me,  should  not  be  demanded.  I  trust  that  we  are  pre- 
pared to  next  consider  the  question — 

III.  What  is  the  Teaching  of  the  Spirit  upon  the 
Subject  of  Church  Organization? 

It  is  possible  there  is  no  subject  conne61:ed  with  the 
Christian  economy  shrouded  in  greater  perplexities  than 
the  organization  of  the  Church;  and  yet  we  are  persuaded 
that,  in  the  light  of  the  New  Testament,  there  are  no  in- 
comprehensible mysteries  involved.  In  our  candid  judg- 
ment, a  fair  statement  of  the  question  will  very  much  con- 
tribute to  unity  of  mind  and  adion  among  the  saints. 

In  the  prosecution  of  our  investigation,  itwill  be  proper, 
in  the  first  place,  to  call  attention  to  the  meaning  of  organ- 
ization. In  natural  history  the  word  denotes  a  structure^ 
with  all  the  parts  or  organs  wisely  adjusted  for  adlion. 
Thus,  a  plant  or  an  animal  is  denominated  an  organiza- 
tion, because  the  organs,  parts,  or  instruments  are  fitted, 
arranged,  and  marvelously  adjusted  to  enable  all  the  ma- 
chinery to  a6l  harmoniously.  The  mutual  aftion  and 
co-operation  of  all  the  parts  of  the  organization  are  the 
necessary  conditions  of  its  health,  growth,  and  efficiency. 
Take  from  the  organization  the  least  of  its  members,  and 
the  body  is  not  complete;  and  it  is  impossible  for  one 
organization  to  perform  the  work  of  another.  Not  even 
a  single  member  of  one  can  be  made  effedtive  in  another. 
Hence,  each  organization  in  this  vast  universe  is  a  sover- 
eignty in  itself,  as  perfedt  of  its  kind  as  the  Great  Author 
of  all  organizations.  They  all,  to  the  spiritually  enlight- 
ened, refleft  the  surpassing  wisdom  of  their  Great  Author. 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  called  his  "body;' 
"God's  husbandry;"  "God's  building;"  "the  Temple 


5^6 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  God."  And  hence  it  is,  in  the  proper  meaning  of  the 
word,  an  organization.  We  read  of  the  "head,  mouth, 
eyes,  feet,  hands,  ears,  the  feeble  and  less  honorable  mem- 
bers," but  each  is  indispensable  to  the  perfection  of  the 
"one  body." 

The  apostle  informs  us  that  Christians  "are  builded 
together  for  a  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit;  "  and, 
consequently,  God  lives  in  the  members,  and  we  in  him. 
He  is  our  light  and  life. 

Next,  we  may  inquire  "When,"  and  "  How,"  is  a  church 
organized  ?  This  question  is  answered  in  various  forms 
by  the  Spirit,  and  yet  the  idea  is  always  the  same.  From 
the  very  large  amount  of  instrudlion  we  will  seled  but  few 
Scriptures.  Each  branch  ingrafted  into  the  "true  vine" 
is,  by  virtue  of  its  ingrafting,  an  organ,  instrument,  and 
essential  part  of  the  body;  and  at  the  instant  the  branches 
or  members  are  "tempered,"  mixed,  or  fitted  together  by 
the  Father,  and  give  themselves  to  each  other  as  the  spir- 
itually-born kings  and  priests  to  God,  they,  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  constitute  a  perfedlv  organized  church  of 
the  saints. 

The  new-born  babe,  at  the  moment  of  birth,  is  as  per- 
fefl  an  organization  as  it  can  ever  become;  but  the  organs 
are  feeble,  and  need  suitable  nourishment  and  care.  The 
church,  also,  the  day  of  its  planting,  is  a  perfed  organism ; 
but  copious  draughts  of  "the  sincere  milk  of  the  word" 
are  essential  to  the  spiritual  health  and  growth  of  the 
members. 

These  matters  will  appear  clearer  when  we  examine  a 
ittle  more  carefully  a  few  Scriptures  with  reference  to  this 
very  simple  conclusion. 

The  converts  on  Pentecost,  with  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty,  were  not  only  pronounced  "the  Church,"  but 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


527 


the  new-born  organs  exhibited  spiritual  life  in  "continu- 
ing steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  teaching  and  fellowship, 
and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers."  This  being 
the  first  appearance  on  earth  of  an  organized  body  of 
Christ,  it  might  be  taken  as  a  model  for  church  organi- 
zation. 

In  the  further  prosecution  of  this  subjed:,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  keep  in  mind  that  God  organizes  the  Church 
by  the  Spirit,  and  when  the  "building  is  fitly  framed  to- 
gether, it  grows  into  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord."  Or,  as 
the  apostle  says :  "All  the  body  by  joints  and  bands,  hav- 
ing nourishment  ministered,  and  knit  together,  increases 
with  the  increase  of  God."  As  mortar  is  tempered  and 
made  fit  for  use  by  wisely  adjusting  the  elements,  God 
has  tempered,  knit,  and  compared  the  body  together, 
"that  there  should  be  no  schism,  but  the  members  should 
have  the  same  care  for  one  another."  (i  Cor.  xii:  24.)  In 
the  same  connedion  the  apostle  says:  "God  has  set  the 
members  every  one  of  them  in  the  body,  as  it  has  pleased 
him."  (i  Cor.  xii :  18.)  This  is  the  key  to  the  whole  sub- 
jedl  of  church  organization. 

Are  we  asked  how  "God  sets  the  members  in  the 
body?"  how  he  tempers  [mixes)  them  together  for  harmo- 
nious aftion  and  growth?  The  Spirit  points  to  Christ 
as  the  "Head  and  Savior  of  the  body."  Therefore,  no 
eledtion  or  ordination  by  the  members,  can  set  a  head  to 
the  body.  God  says  to  the  senior  members :  "Take  heed 
to  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  made  (set  or  placed)  you  overseers.  If  God 
has  set  the  experienced  members,  as  "Stephanas,  the  first 
fruits  of  Achaia,  and  others  with  him,  who  addided  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  the  saints,"  as  his  chosen  shepherds, 
to  whom  the  members,  in  consequence  of  their  "help  and 


528 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


labor,"  were  to  "submit,"  we  have  forever  settled  the 
vexed  question  of  official  appointments.  God  does  it. 
Hence,  Elder  Peter  said  to  experienced  members:  "Feed 
the  flock  of  God,  taking  the  oversight,  not  by  constraint, 
but  willingly;  not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind; 
not  as  lords  over  God's  heritage,  but  as  ensamples  to  the 
flock:  and  when  the  chief  shepherd  shall  appear,  ye  shall 
receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away." 

The  senior  women,  also,  God  has  "set,"  appointed,  and 
ordained  in  the  Church,  as  the  natural  and  only  competent 
"teachers  of  the  younger  women." 

The  younger  are  commanded  to  "  submit  to  the  elder ; " 
and,  finally,  "all  are  to  submit  one  to  another,"  and  to 
"esteem  each  other  highly  in  love,  for  their  work  sake," 
and  on  no  other  account  whatever.  Therefore,  all  offi- 
cials are  the  natural  and  legitimate  outgrowth  of  the 
Church. 

This  Divine  organization,  as  intimated,  began  at  Pen- 
tecost; but  many  things  "were  wanting"  to  perfedt  the 
body  in  the  days  of  the  apostles.  It  may  be  pronounced 
the  day  of  the  Church's  childhood,  in  which,  although  the 
Spirit  diredled  in  all  things,  the  members  "looked  through 
a  glass  darkly,"  till  the  "perfe6tion"  came. 

The  saints  were  perfe6led  for  the  work  of  ministering 
to  the  nations,  for  building  up  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
came  to  the  unity  of  the  faith  at  the  cornpletion  of  the 
revelation.  They  attained  to  the  knowledge  of  a  perfed 
man  in  Jesus  Christ.  Henceforth,  they  "were  no  more 
children,  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  by  every 
wind  of  dodrine,"  but,  by  the  members,  "speaking  the 
truth  in  love,"  were  to  grow  up  into  him  in  all  things,  and 
to  make  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  upbuilding  of  itself 
in  love." 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


I  now  feel  at  liberty  to  pronounce  this  the  Lord's 
ORGANIZATION,  and,  as  I  hope  to  show  presently,  "the 
Lord's  plan,"  for  all  spiritual  service. 

If  these  things  embody  the  instrudlions  of  the  New 
Testament,  upon  the  great  subjedl  of  spiritual  organiza- 
tion, how  are  we  to  regard  the  condudt  of  professed  Church 
organizers,  when  they  assume  the  right  to  appoint  heads, 
overseers,  pastors,  and  other  officials  over  God's  house- 
hold This,  though  it  is  the  pradlice  of  Rome  and  all 
her  daughters,  to  say  the  least,  has  not  the  slightest  sem- 
blance of  Divine  authority. 

The  fancy  of  preachers  that  they  organize  and  reorgan- 
ize churches,  by  .professing  to  make  elders,  deacons,  over 
seers,  or  other  officials,  is  wholly  unscriptural,  and  a  re- 
proach to  any  people  professing  to  be  led  by  the  Spirit. 
I  would  be  pleased  to  answer  every  possible  objection  to 
these  conclusions;  but,  in  the  circumstances,  I  can  only 
pray  our  friends  to  give  the  subje6l  a  calm  and  impartial 
examination. 

If  I  have  comprehended  the  meaning  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  it  strengthens  and  grows  ab  intra,  and  not  ab 
extra,  from  the  poor  husks  furnished  by  the  world  and 
its  wisdom;  and  thus  we  are  brought  to  ask — 

IV.   Is  THE  Church  a  carnal,  mixed,  or  spiritual 

organization  ? 

The  sin  of  the  present  religious  world  seems  to  consist 
in  giving  the  Church  no  higher  position  than  the  govern- 
ments of  the  earth.  Hence,  we  know  no  party  that  has 
not  either  formed  alliances  with  the  State,  or,  in  some 
manner,  sought  the  protedlion  and  friendship  of  govern- 
ments under  the  direftion  of  the  prince  of  this  world.  It 
is  the  glory  of  most  religious  parties  in  America,  that  their 
34 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


organizations  are  modeled  after  the  government  of  the 
United  States. 

But  it  is  the  fatal  error  of  these  churches,  with  most 
prophetical  writers — from  Baxter,  in  his  Napoleonic  Anti- 
christ, to  Baldwin,  in  his  millennial  and  world-wide  de- 
mocracy— to  fail  to  discover  the  spiritual  organization, 
called  "God's  house."  Perhaps,  a  very  brief  examination 
of  the  Church  and  world-powers  may  be  in  place.  These 
may  be  clearly  seen,  by  even  a  bird's-eye  glance,  at  the 
elements  of  each.  It  has,  however,  been  said  of  us,  that 
our  conclusions  are  not  clear  in  regard  to  the  Church  and 
world-powers.  At  this  friendly  intimation  we  are  not  at 
all  suprised.  It  is  said  that  objects,  seen  through  colored 
glasses,  never  appear  as  they  really  exist;  and  we  appre- 
hend, that  persons  so  wholly  devoted  to  earthly  govern- 
ments and  worldly-wise  institutions,  for  the  work  of  God, 
as  the  great  masses  of  the  people  of  this  age,  would  not 
likely  discover  the  spiritual  organization  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Worldly  wisdom  for  worldly  labor;  but  into  the 
Spirit's  temple,  the  wisdom  of  man  can  not  penetrate. 

How  could  we  exped  such  as  look  through  Roman  and 
Protestant  mists,  to  see  the  fair  proportions  and  Divine 
symmetry  of  the  body  of  Christ  ? 

But  to  the  elements  of  the  respedlive  orders  of  institu- 
tions we  are  contemplating,  we  must  carefully  look  for 
satisfadory  light. 

Worldly  governments  are  not  for  the  righteous,  said 
Paul ;  and,  therefore,  God  has  ordained  the  men  of  the 
world  as  his  ministers  to  create  and  diredt  all  institutions 
worldly.  In  his  spiritual  household,  our  heavenly  Father 
has  reserved  the  right  to  govern  without  the  admixture  of 
the  least  human  wisdom,  which  the  apostle  says  is  "fool- 
ishness with  God."    The  prince  of  this  world  is  the  head 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


and  governor,  in  all  kingdoms  and  organizations  con- 
struded  in  the  wisdom  of  men.  His  subjefts  are  such  as 
are  devoted  to  institutionr-  not  Divine.  Force  is  the  great 
controlling  power. 

In  Christ's  body,  on  the  contrary,  the  Head  is  spiritual; 
his  subjedls  are  spiritual ;  his  laws  are  spiritual;  and  love 
is  the  only  motive  power.  To  us  these  institutions,  there- 
fore, differ  across  the  whole  heavens.  May  we  not  call  to 
our  aid  a  few  very  plain  passages  of  Scripture,  as  evidence 
that  we  are  not  mistaken. 

Our  Lord  said:  "The  field  is  the  world;  the  good  seed 
are  the  children  of  the  kingdom  ;  but  the  tares  are  the 
children  of  the  wicked  one."  To  the  Jews,  he  said:  "Ye 
are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye 
will  do.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  and 
abode  not  in  the  truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him." 
(John  viii :  44.) 

From  these  statements,  we  learn  that,  while  the  wheat 
and  tares  grow  together  in  the  world,  the  good  seed,  rep- 
resenting Christians,  are  "the  children  of  the  kingdom;" 
and  though  in  the  world,  "are  not  of  the  world,"  while  the 
tares  are  the  devil's  sowing  and  plants.  In  that  solemn 
declaration  of  the  Savior  before  Pilate — "My  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world ;  if  it  were,  my  servants  would  fight  that  I 
should  not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews;  but  now  is  my  king- 
dom not  from  hence  " — possibly  is  embodied  all  that  need 
be  predicated  of  the  spiritual  charafter  of  the  Church  for 
our  present  purpose.  In  the  Christian  institution,  then, 
"  swords  are  beaten  into  ploughshares,  and  spears  into 
pruning-hooks,"  and  God's  people  "study  not  war."  No 
violence  was  necessary  to  give  success  to  the  government 
of  Christ,  and  his  people  employ  it  not  in  their  journey 
to  the  skies.    God  is  their  shield  and  high  tower.  If, 


532 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


through  these  great  words  of  the  Spirit,  our  friends  can 
not  see  the  broad  line  between  the  Church  and  the  world, 
it  is  not  in  my  power  to  describe  it. 

V.  What  is  the  legitimate  work  of  this  Spiritual 

ORGANIZATION  ? 

Caesar,  in  his  memorable  dispatch  to  the  Roman  Senate, 
embodied  a  volume  in  the  simple  words,  "  I  came,  I  saw, 
I  conquered;"  and  of  our  beloved  Savior  it  may  be  said: 
He  came  to  earth,  to  save  the  lost;  he  provided  the  means 
in  his  Church,  and  he  will  not  be  foiled  in  his  purposes. 

If  men  are  dead  to  God,  if  they  are  in  the  broad  fields 
of  "  the  wicked  one,"  we  can  not  see  how  they  can  be  par- 
doned or  saved  till  they  renounce  their  old  master,  "turn 
from  darkness  to  light,"  and  become  loyal  to  Jesus  Christ, 
by  "obeying  from  the  heart  that  form  of  doftrine  through 
which  they  are  set  free  from  sin,  and  become  the  servants 
of  righteousness."  (Romans  vi :  17.)  Hence,  when  the 
wicked  turn  to  God,  they  are  said,  as  we  have  seen,  to  be 
"  delivered  from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  translated 
into  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son."  (Col.  i :  13.)  Jesus 
said :  "  Come  to  me,  take  my  yoke,  and  you  shall  find 
rest  to  your  souls."  This  is  fully  illustrated  by  the 
"  householder  who  went  out  early  in  the  morning  to  hire 
laborers  into  his  vineyard;"  and  having  agreed  with  them, 
"he  sent  them  into  his  vineyard  to  work." 

If  it  was  an  essential  condition,  in  order  to  perform  the 
service  of  the  householder,  to  enter  into  the  vineyard,  we 
may  readily  conclude  that  the  works  of  God  can  not  be 
performed  in  the  kingdom  of  the  wicked  one.  Not  only 
does  the  entrance  into  the  body  of  Christ  secure  the  re- 
mission of  sins,  the  adoption  into  the  heavenly  family, 
"  life  from  the  dead,"  and  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  Holy 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


533 


Spirit — but,  at  the  close  of  our  pilgrimage,  our  Lord  will 
deliver  up  his  kingdom — his  chosen  people — to  his  Father, 
that  "  God  may  be  all  and  in  all."  With  this  agrees  the 
declaration  of  the  wise  man,  that  "The  sacrifice  of  the 
wicked  is  an  abomination  to  the  Lord;  but  the  prayer  of 
the  upright  is  his  delight."  (Proverbs  xv  :  8.)  Hence, 
the  proposition  that  there  are  really  two,  and  but  two, 
kingdoms  or  orders  of  government  on  the  earth — the  one 
under  the  prince  of  this  world,  the  devil,  and  the  other 
under  the  Prince  of  Peace — is  true  beyond  controversy. 
Under  the  guidance  of  the  God  of  this  world,  who  is 
supreme  in  all  worldly  governments  and  organizations 
originating  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  we  consider  it  entirely 
safe  to  conclude  that  spiritual  life  can  not  be  enjoyed. 
But,  thanks  to  God,  whoever  will  has  the  right  to  forsake 
the  kingdom  of  darkness,  and  become  an  .heir  of  God 
through  Christ. 

In  this  connexion,  it  can  but  be  considered  an  ad  of 
simple  justice  to  at  least  advert  to  what  must,  sooner  or 
later,  be  acknowledged  in  the  world's  history  as  "  1'he  Re- 
formatory Movement  of  the  nineteenth  century'^ 

We  consider  it  becoming  to  state,  in  plain  terms,  the 
position  which  clearly  distinguishes  the  body  of  Christ 
from  all  other  religious  organizations. 

From  the  apostasy  of  the  Romish  and  Greek  Churches 
to  this  day,  there  can  not  be  found,  in  the  history  of  de- 
nominations. Papal  or  Protestant,  an  earnest  effort  to  re- 
turn to  the  spiritual  purity  and  authority  of  the  Church  of 
God.  True,  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Wesley  made  war  upon 
the  accumulated  church  corruptions  of  the  ages;  but  it 
never  entered  into  their  hearts  to  doubt  the  capacity  of 
institutions  originating  in  apostasy  to  save  the  world. 
Hence,  we  hear  not  a  word  from  them  in  favor  of  return- 


534 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


ing  to  the  ancient  order  of  things.  Each  became  per- 
fedlly  satisfied  with  the  formation  of  a  new  sefl,  on  the 
model  of  Rome;  and,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, the  ne  plus  ultra  of  partisan  degradation  seemed  to 
nave  been  reached. 

Early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  however,  it  pleased  God 
to  raise  up  witnesses,  quite  as  humble  as  our  Lord  and 
nis  apostles,  to  plead  for  a  pure  speech  and  a  pure  religion. 
The  effort  has  been  successful  in  calling  from  the  world, 
and  the  very  depths  of  spiritual  Babylon,  into  religious 
union,  hundreds  of  thousands,  who  fear  not  to  give  "an 
authoritative  reason  for  their  hope. 

These  great  men  of  God  split  with  Romanism,  Protest- 
antism, and  all  other  forms  of  human  organizations,  sim- 
ply upon  the  ground  that  they  had  lost  all  confidence  in 
institutions  originating  in  the  wisdom  of  men  to  save  the 
lost  and  elevate  society  to  the  state  of  purity  required  in 
the  New  Testament. 

We  have  not  assailed  Romanism,  or  Protestantism, 
with  the  idea  of  forming  a  new  se<5t,  but  solely  from  the 
solemn  convidlion  that  religious  parties  are  inadequate  for 
the  work  intended  by  the  Church  of  Christ.  If,  in  our 
hearts,  we  could  conclude  that  denominations,  societies, 
and  organizations  not  known  in  the  New  Testament  were 
capable  of  the  spiritual  labor  ordained  by  Christ  ind  the 
apostles,  not  a  word  against  them  would  escape  our  lips. 

While  we  disclaim  all  connexion  with  Romish  and  Prot- 
estant seds,  we  solemnly  deny  ourselves  the  right  to  add 
another  faftion  to  the  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  which  com- 
pleted the  degradation  of  the  apostasy.  It  is  our  rejoicing 
that  we  have  no  denomination,  party,  or  creed  to  defend, 
and  no  plans,  expedients,  or  organizations  that  have  arisen, 
in  our  wisdom  and  discretion,  to  foster.   Still,  our  distindt- 


TOLBERT  FANNING. 


535 


ive  position  is  not  negative.  Nay,  verily;  we  humbly 
claim  to  be  the  Lord's  freedmen ;  and,  confidently  believ- 
ing that  the  Church  built  upon  the  rock — "the  pillar  and 
support  of  the  truth" — has  so  far  weathered  the  storm  of 
faftious  opposition,  that  it  will  finally  triumph  over  his 
Satanic  majesty's  expedients,  we  therefore  aspire  to  nothing 
beyond  membership  in  the  body  of  Christ.  All  who  be- 
lieve through  the  apostles'  words  we  claim  as  our  brethren ; 
and  we  will  have  fellowship  on  no  other  terms.  Believing 
that  all  things  which  pertain  to  life  and  godliness  are  fur- 
nished in  the  Scriptures,  we  take  the  Bible,  in  good  faith, 
as  our  only  creed,  and  ask  no  one  to  believe  or  do  any  thing 
of  a  religious  charadler  for  which  we  have  not  "a  thus  saith 
the  Lord."  Not  only  do  we  regard  the  Church  of  God  as 
competent  for  all  spiritual  work,  but  that  the  adoption  of 
any  other  organization  for  such  service,  as  most  displeasing 
to  heaven  and  injurious  to  man. 

Hence,  we  can  but  urge  our  cotemporaries  to  be  Chris- 
tians in  the  Scriptural  sense  of  the  word;  for,  without  cit- 
izenship in  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son,  and  a  faith- 
ful adherence  to  the  creed  furnished  by  the  Spirit,  eternal 
life  is  not  promised. 

VL  The  Conflicts  of  the  Church. 

The  war  between  Michael  and  Satan  is  still  raging.  The 
destroyer  has  diligently  labored,  but  in  vain,  from  the 
planting  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  on  Pentecost,  to 
overthrow  the  cause,  for  the  proteftion  of  which  the  verac- 
ity of  the  Father's  throne  is  pledged.  The  deceiver  still 
employs  the  principalities,  powers,  and  expedients  of  the 
world  to  overthrow  the  kingdom  of  the  Savior.  Hence 
we  can  not  hope  for  conflijfts  to  cease  until  the  Lord  shall 
have  put  the  last  enemy  under  his  feet. 


536 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


VII,  Will  the  Church  of  Christ  finally  triumph  ? 

If  God  is  true,  his  purposes  can  not  fail;  and  if  the 
Spirit's  teaching  affords  the  only  authority  to  which  we  can 
confidently  look,  it  is  our  exalted  privilege  to  believe  that 
the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  problem  of  self-gov- 
ernment, civil  and  ecclesiastical,  will  have  been  worked 
out — when,  from  the  utter  failure  of  worldly-wise  organi- 
zations for  spiritual  labor,  the  Church  of  Christ  will  shine 
forth  "  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an 
army  with  banners."  Then,  and  not  until  then,  will  her 
true  mission  be  acknowledged. 


OaircU  S.  Co.RiiUslsts.CinaiaE 


WILLIAM  THOMAS  MOORE.* 


'tT7ILLIAM  THOMAS  MOORE  was  born  in  Henry  County,  Ken 
'  tucky,  August  27,  1832.  His  paternal  ancestors  were  Irish;  his 
maternal,  Scotch.  His  immediate  parents  were  from  Virginia.  When 
nine  years  of  age,  his  father  died,  leaving  a  widow  and  six  children,  and, 
for  a  number  of  years,  William  was  the  chief  dependence  of  the  bereaved 
family.  Thus  early  were  the  boy's  energies  of  body  and  mind  called  to 
grapple  with  toil  and  care;  but,  doubtless,  it  was  during  these  years  that 
the  foundation  of  his  subsequent  successes  was  laid.  From  the  necessities 
of  his  position,  his  education  was  neglefted,  and,  at  eighteen  years  of  age, 
his  scholastic  attainments  comprehended  reading  and  writing — no  more; 
but,  having  an  innate  thirst  for  knowledge,  he  had  read  whatever  books  had 
come  in  his  way — especially  had  he  read  the  Bible. 

At  eighteen,  Mr.  Moore  entered  an  academy  at  Newcastle,  Kentucky, 
and,  having  passed  through  a  preparatory  course  of  study  there,  and  having 
improved  his  financial  affairs  by  teaching  for  a  season,  he  entered  Bethany 
College,  Virginia,  in  the  autumn  of  1855.  In  July,  1 858,  having  been  chosen 
from  a  class  of  twenty-four  to  deliver  the  Valediftory  Address,  he  was 
graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts.  In  Oftober  of  the  same  year,  he  was  chosen 
pastor  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  and  remained  its 
pastor  till  the  spring  of  1864,  when  he  resigned,  on  account  of  failing 
health.  In  June,  1864,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Bishop,  second 
daughter  of  R.  M.  Bishop,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  On  the  first  of  January, 
1865,  his  health  having  greatly  improved,  Mr.  Moore  accepted  a  call  to 
the  pastoral  work  in  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Detroit,  Michigan.  Although 
his  labors  there  were  being  attended  by  the  most  encouraging  success,  yet, 
having  been  elefted  to  a  Professorship  in  Kentucky  University,  he  left  De- 
troit in  February,  1866,  and  entered  at  once  on  the  labors  appointed  him 
in  the  University.  Meanwhile,  he  had  received  a  call  from  the  Church 
of  God,  Eighth  and  Walnut  streets,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and,  having  ascer- 


•  In  justice  to  the  Editor  of  this  work,  it  is  proper  to  state  that  this  sketch  of  his  life  was  written,  a( 
the  request  of  the  Publishers,  by  Dr.  L.  L.  Pinkerton,  and  appears  just  as  he  wrote  it. 

(537) 


538 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


tained  that,  for  the  present,  the  duties  of  his  University  Chair  could  be  met 
by  a  brief  course  of  leftures  in  each  session,  he  accepted  the  call  of  the 
Church.    He  holds  both  offices  at  the  present  time,  Odtober,  1867. 

Besides  his  almost  continuous  labors  as  pastor  and  evangelist,  W.  T. 
Moore  has  prepared  and  delivered  a  number  of  public  addresses  on  a  va- 
riety of  topics,  some  of  which  have  been  published,  and  widely  circulated. 
He  has  also  edited  a  portion  of  A.  Campbell's  *' Lectures  on  the  Penta- 
teuch," and  this  volume  of  Discourses  and  Biographical  Sketches.  Amid 
these  constant  and  varied  engagements,  he  has  found  leisure  to  toy  slightly 
with  the  Muses;  nor  have  these  coy  nymphs  rudely  repelled  his  wooings. 
Several  short  poems,  chiefly  lyric  and  elegiac,  have  found  their  way  into 
print  and  into  public  favor.  His  love  of  poetry  and  of  music,  and  his  ap- 
preciation of  the  excellencies  of  both,  rendered  his  services  of  incalculable 
value  in  the  compilation  of  the  "  Christian  Hymn  Book  " — the  best  extant 
colleftion  of  sacred  sonnets  in  the  English  language. 

The  lessons  of  persevering  toil  learned  in  boyhood  in  the  hill  country 
of  Henry  County,  Kentucky,  have  not  been  lost,  nor  has  the  love  of  read- 
ing that  charadlerized  the  boy  disappeared  in  the  man.  He  believes  in 
progress,  from  the  high  even  to  the  still  higher,  and  illustrates  his  faith 
by  his  works.  Withal,  he  never  seems  to  be  busy ;  in  faft,  does  not  seem 
to  be  doing  any  thing  when  out  of  the  pulpit,  nor  intending  to  do  any 
thing;  and  yet  he  can  be  seldom,  if  ever,  idle,  as  this  brief  record  abun- 
dantly attests.  With  no  bustle  or  apparent  motion,  there  is  execution — 
progress.  Few  men  have  accomplished  more,  in  the  same  time,  and  under 
similar  circumstances,  than  has  W.  T.  Moore. 

His  manner  in  the  pulpit,  whether  of  action  or  utterance,  indicates  deep 
earnestness.  His  style  sometimes  borders  on  the  vehement,  but  never  on 
the  declamatory.  The  points  in  his  discourses  are  generally  well  chosen, 
forcibly  argued,  and  clearly  illustrated,  and,  when  praftical,  powerfully  en- 
forced. But  his  success  as  a  minister  is  owing  much  less  to  his  logic  than 
to  the  warm  and  wide  sympathy  which  pervades  and  vivifies  it.  His  is 
heart-power — a  power  without  which  the  logic  of  Paul  and  the  eloquence 
of  Apollos  combined  would  fail  to  awaken  the  conscience  of  the  impeni 
tent  sinner,  or  arouse  the  energies  of  the  careless  believer. 

With  whatever  is  beautiful,  and  good,  and  true;  with  every  thing  that 
is  pitiable,  or  distressed,  or  down-fallen,  or  oppressed;  with  all  that  is  ele- 
vating, ennobling,  hopeful,  God  has  given  to  W.  T.  Moore  a  quick,  a  deep, 
an  irresistible  sympathy,  so  that  he  is  ready  to  rejoice  with  the  happy,  and 
to  weep  with  those  that  weep.  He  is  ever  forward  to  engage  in  whatever 
promises  true  advancement,  and  to  share  his  last  resources  witli  those  he 
esteems  worthy,  but  who  have  grown  weary  and  lame,  and  have  thus  fallen 
or  faltered  in  the  struggle  of  life. 


FAITH  AND  SIGHT. 


BY  W.  T.  MOORE. 


"For  we  walk  by  faith,  and  not  by  sight." — 2  Cor.  v:  7. 

IN  our  present  state,  we  are  necessarily  conneded  with 
two  worlds — the  natural  and  the  supernatural — and 
from  these  we  derive  all  the  means  of  our  temporal  and 
spiritual  life.  The  natural  satisfies  the  senses,  and  is, 
indeed,  the  soil  on  which  they  grow;  but  only  the  super- 
natural can  satisfy  the  conditions  of  the  spirit,  for  its  im- 
mortal longings  reach  far  beyond  the  confines  of  sensuous 
and  earthly  things.  These  two  worlds  constitute  man's 
entire  area  of  thought  and  adion,  affording  ample  oppor- 
tunities for  the  exercise  alike  of  his  physical  and  spiritual 
natures.  In  one,  we  walk  by  Sight;  in  the  other,  by  Faith. 
Let  it  be  distindtly  stated,  however,  that  there  is  no  nec- 
essary conflict  between  the  natural  and  the  supernatural. 
These  are  complements  of  each  other,  and  are  both  essen- 
tial to  meet  the  requirements  of  our  organization,  as  well 
as  to  fulfill  the  purposes  of  God  in  us.  It  is  time  that 
the  crude,  irrational,  and  unphilosophical  conclusion,  that 
God,  in  his  moral  government,  is  forever  contradidling 
the  laws  of  the  physical,  had  become  obsolete — a  fossil  of 
a  by-gone,  semi-christian  civilization.   God  does  not  con 

(539) 


540 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


tradidl  himself,  but  is  perfedlly  consistent  in  all  his  works. 
Hence,  there  is  no  necessary  antagonism  between  spirit 
and  sense;  neither  is  there  any  between  Faith  and  Sight. 
But,  while  this  is  true,  it  is  equally  true  that  Faith  and 
Sight  are  exceedingly  jealous  of  each  other.  No  encroach- 
ments upon  the  boundaries  of  either  must  be  made,  for 
when  i*"  is  otherwise,  a  conflidl  at  once  begins,  which  not 
unfrequently  ends  in  the  destruftion  of  happiness,  and  the 
ruin  of  the  soul.  Each  has  its  distindlive  prc^vince,  and 
this  is  sacred  against  all  interference.  It  becomes,  there- 
fore, a  matter  of  grave  importance  to  corre6lly  define  the 
boundaries  of  these,  and  whatever  other  relations  they 
may  sustain  to  each  other.  Hence,  in  order  to  treat  the 
whole  subjedl  in  a  manner  somewhat  commensurate  with 
its  importance,  I  propose  to  observe  the  following  plan : 

I.  Show  the  difference  between  Faith  and  Sight  ; 
II.  Trace  the  analogy  between  them; 
ni.  Illustrate  the  Superiority  of  Faith. 

In  presenting  and  developing  these  points,  I  shall  avoid, 
as  far  as  possible,  every  thing  like  abstradl  or  metaphysical 
reasoning,  though,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  go  somewhat  out  of  the  ordinary  path  of 
pulpit  discourse.  I  will  endeavor,  however,  to  be  as  sim- 
ple in  my  treatment  as  the  charafter  of  the  subje6t  will  per- 
mit; and  trust  that,  by  Divine  assistance,  I  may  be  able 
to  present  every  thing  in  such  a  way  as  that  all  may  un- 
derstand and  be  benefited  by  the  investigation.  Let  us, 
then,  consider — 

I.  The  Difference  between  Faith  and  Sight. 

It  will  greatly  facilitate  our  progress  in  this  inquiry,  if 
we  keep  in  memory  what  has  already  been  stated  in  ref- 


W.  T.  MOORE. 


erence  to  the  distindl  province  occupied  respedlively  by 
Faith  and  Sight.  It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  they 
do  not  belong  to  the  same  territory,  and  that  it  is  only  by 
keeping  them  entirely  separate  that  harmony  between  them 
is  preserved. 

The  term  Sight^  in  the  text,  may  be  defined  as  embrac- 
ing every  thing  outside  of  Faith.  Whatever  belongs  to  the 
Senses,  or  the  Reason,  is  clearly  included  in  it.  Hence, 
Sense,  Reason,  and  Faith  cover  the  whole  ground  of  the 
natural  and  the  supernatural,  the  visible  and  invisible,  the 
temporal  and  eternal;  and  to  understand  the  relation  of 
these  to  each  other,  and  to  know  how  to  appropriate  the 
knowledge  derived  respectively  from  them,  is  the  end  of 
all  study,  the  consummation  of  all  effort. 

I  shall  now  attempt  to  illustrate  these  matters  in  such 
a  way  as  that  no  one  can  fail  to  understand  my  meaning. 
If  you  look  upon  an  objed,  the  soul  will  be  affefted  ac- 
cording to  the  qualities  of  that  objedl.  If  the  objedt  is  a 
beautiful  landscape,  the  impression  made  will  be  agreeable 
— the  soul  will  enjoy  the  view;  but  if  the  objed:  is  an  un- 
gainly thing — something  possessing  repulsive  qualities — 
it  will  be  disagreeable.,  and  you  will  experience  a  very  un- 
pleasant sensation.  Hence,  it  may  be  affirmed  that  all 
sensuous  knowledge — that  is,  knowledge  derived "direflly 
through  the  senses — is  either  agreeable  or  disagreeable, 
pleasant  or  unpleasant;  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  the  prov- 
ince of  Sense  to  determine  tlie  qualities  of  things. 

If,  however,  you  demonstrate  that  the  "  square  de- 
scribed on  the  hypothenuse  of  a  right-angled  triangle  is 
equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares  described  on  the  other 
two  sides,"  it  can  not  be  said  that  there  is  any  thing  agree- 
able or  disagreeable,  pleasant  or  unpleasant  in  that.  True, 
there  is  a  sense  of  enjoyment  when  the  conclusion  is 


542 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


reached ,  but  this  is  no  part  of  the  demonstration.  The 
feeling  experienced  is  after  the  -problem  passes  from  the  Rea- 
son to  the  Senses.  But  the  demonstration  itself  is  a  step 
higher  than  the  Senses.  It  is  in  the  domain  of  the  Reason, 
and  the  knowledge  which  you  derive  from  your  effort 
may  be  denominated  rational^  because  it  comes  from  the 
relation  of  things,  and  not  their  qualities.  This  is  a  new 
field  upon  which  you  have  entered,  and  you  no  longer 
behold  the  enchanting  sunsets,  the  meandering  rivers,  and 
the  beautiful  landscapes  which  every-where  meet  the  view 
in  the  world  of  qualities;  nor  do  you  any  longer  hear  the 
ravishing  music  of  singing  birds,  laughing  rivulets,  and 
dashing  waterfalls,  as  they  mingle  their  strange  and  won- 
derful harmonies  into  a  grand  oratorio,  the  sound  of  which 
inspires  all  the  region  of  the  sense-land.  You  have  for- 
gotten all  these,  and  are  now  at  work  in  the  world  of 
causes  and  wherefores,  the  possible  and  impossible,  where 
sensation  gives  place  to  demonstration,  and  light  comes 
only  through  the  pure  Reason. 

We  have  now  briefly  surveyed  the  dominion  of  Sight; 
but  there  are  many  things  yet  to  be  learned.  We  have 
done  little  more  than  cast  a  pebble  into  the  great  waters 
of  the  unknown.  The  past,  with  all  its  joys  and  sor- 
rows, buried  beneath  the  weight  of  six  thousand  years  ; 
and  the  future,  with  its  hopes  and  fears,  stretching  out 
before  us  like  a  shoreless  ocean,  whose  treasures  can  not 
be  gathered,  and  whose  mysteries  can  mot  be  explained  by 
either  Sense  or  Reason,  are  yet  unexplored.  But,  thanks 
to  our  heavenly  Father,  we  are  not  left  in  darkness  here. 
Over  all  this  invisible  land,  Faith  holds  undisputed  sway. 
Just  at  the  point  where  Sight  ends.  Faith  begins.  When  Sense 
and  Reason  become  helpless  and  blind,  then  Faith  spreads 
her  wings,  and  leads  on  through  the  regions  beyond.  Did 


W.  T.  MOORE. 


543 


such  a  man  as  the  first  Napoleon  live  and  adt  the  part 
ascribed  to  him  in  history?  If  so,  how  does  it  become  a 
part  of  our  stock  of  knowledge?  Is  it  because  it  is  agree- 
able or  disagreeable  ?  Or  can  it  be  demonstrated  from 
the  relation  of  things  ?  Can  either  Sense  or  Reason  reach 
back  into  the  past,  and  bring  this  fad  into  the  knowledge 
of  the  present?  Who  does  not  see  that  it  is  a  subjed 
entirely  out  of  the  range  of  either  of  these,  and  that,  no 
matter  how  they  may  be  affedled  by  it,  the  fa5l  is  not 
changed  in  any  way  whatever  ?  It  is  equally  independent 
of  the  likes  and. dislikes  of  mankind,  and  the  boasted 
power  of  human  reason.  All  that  you  can  say  about  it 
is,  that  it  is  either  true  or  false.  If  false,  nothing  can 
make  it  true;  if  true,  nothing  can  make  it  false.  Matters 
of  faith,  then,  are  matters  of  fa£l-;  and  these  can  be  determined 
only  by  the  weight  of  testimony. 

If  what  has  been  already  stated  be  true,  it  must  be  evi- 
dent that  there  are  but  three  ways  in  which  knowledge  can 
be  derived,  viz.,  through  the  senses,  the  pure  reason,  and 
by  taith.  And,  for  the  sake  of  a  convenient  classification, 
we  may  call  the  first,  sensuous  knowledge ;  the  second, 
rational  knowledge;  and  the  third,  the  knowledge  of  tes- 
timony. These  comprehend  all  knowledge,  and  exhaust 
the  area  of  the  natural  and  the  supernatural.  In  harmony 
with  this  classification,  we  have  three  systems  of  religion, 
viz..  Paganism,  Rationalism,  and  Christianity;  and,  upon 
investigation,  it  will  be  found  that  the  charadieristics  of 
these  correspond  respeftively  to  Sense,  Reason,  and  Faith. 
Let  us  now  examine  these  systems  briefly,  and  see  what 
their  ruling  principles  are. 

I.  Paganism  is  the  religion  of  Sense. 

It  proposes  nothing  higher  than  the  Senses  as  an  objed 


544 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


of  worship,  and  is  constantly  controlled  by  an  unrelent- 
ing, sensuous  philosophy.  The  appetites  and  passions 
become  the  gods  of  this  Godless  religion.  Under  its  teach- 
ings, men  seek  that  which  satisfies  the  lusts  of  the  flesh; 
while  every  grace  of  a  higher  civilization  is  either  destroyed 
or  driven  into  eternal  banishment.  Virtue  is  insulted  in 
the  arms  of  Bacchus ;  Righteousness  is  burned  in  the  Tem- 
ple of  Moloch ;  Truth  is  lost  in  the  Pantheon  ;  Innocence 
is  chained  to  the  Car  of  Juggernaut;  Love  lies  bleeding 
under  the  heel  of  Mars;  and  Peace  hears  nothing  but 
eternal  strife.  And  yet,  all  this  exhibits  but  a  faint  pic- 
ture of  the  blighting  curse  of  Paganism  in  its  influence  on 
the  civilization  of  the  world.  But,  if  any  thing  further  is 
needed  to  illustrate  the  diabolical  spirit  of  this  sensuistic 
religion,  it  is  only  necessary  to  hear  what  the  apostle  says 
concerning  its  workings  when  the  people  were  fully  under 
its  control:  "Being  filled  with  all  unrighteousness,  for- 
nication, wickedness,  covetousness,  maliciousness;  full  of 
envy,  murder,  debate,  deceit,  malignity;  whisperers,  back- 
biters, haters  of  God,  despiteful,  proud,  boasters,  invent- 
ors of  evil  things,  disobedient  to  parents,  without  under- 
standing, covenant  breakers,  without  natural  afi^edtion, 
implacable,  unmerciful:  who,  knowing  the  judgment  of 
God,  that  they  which  commit  such  things  are  worthy  of 
death;  not  only  do  the  same,  but  have  pleasure  in  them 
that  do  them."  (Rom.  i:  29-32.)  These  people  were 
certainly  the  chief  of  sinners;  and,  after  such  an  enumer- 
ation, can  we  wonder  that  the  apostle  gloried  in  the  Cross 
by  which  he  was  crucified  to  the  world,  and  the  world  to 
him  ? 

But  what  is  modern  Ritualism  but  a  refined  Paganism? 
Is  not  the  principle  of  both  precisely  the  same?  What 
mean  all  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  Ritualism,  if  they 


W.  T.  MOORE. 


545 


be  not  to  charm  the  Senses  ?  From  this  stand-point  it  does 
not  require  much  refledlion  to  determine  the  secret  of  the 
success  of  Catholicism.  Take  away  its  liturgy,  its  ritual 
service — strip  it  of  every  thing  except  what  is  legitimately 
Christian,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  pontifical 
throne  is  vacated,  and  the  mistress  of  the  world  is  hum- 
bled in  the  dust.  Catholicism,  as  opposed  to  Rationalism, 
is  a  religion  of  superstition  ;  but  as  opposed  to  Christian- 
ity, it  is  a  religion  of  flesh. 

2.  Rationalism  is  the  Religion  oj  Reason. 

As  such,  it  is  only  a  step  higher  than  sensualism.  It  is 
simply  more  respectable.  While  one  glories  in  the  "lusts 
of  the  flesh,"  the  other  glories  in  the  "pride  of  life." 
Rationalism  may  deplore  the  fearful  consequences  of  sin 
as  seen  in  the  progress  of  sensualism;  but'it  can  neither 
account  for  that  sin,  nor  offer  an  adequate  remedy  for  it. 
It  stands,  in  the  presence  of  the  world's  greatest  need,  a 
condemned  pretender,  a  vaunting  hypocrite.  It  has  yet 
to  learn  the  palpable  truism,  that  religion  is  philosophy^  but 
philosophy  is  not  religion.  What  care  I  for  the  boasted 
powers  of  human  reason,  the  wonderful  revelations  of 
science,  and  the  splendid  trophies  of  genius,  while  all  these 
perish  with  their  using,  and  offer  nothing  to  the  sad,  sick,  and 
weary  soul  beyond  the  things  of  time  and  sense  ?  What 
a  cheat  this  Rationalism  is!  And  how  impotent  to  meet 
our  real  wants!  It  has  recently  somewhat  revived  in 
Europe  and  this  country,  and,  under  the  leadership  of 
such  men  as  Renan,  Colenso,  Leckey,  and  Emerson,  it 
promises  great  things.  But  it  is  the  same  old  story  of 
philosophy  against  religion,  the  natural  against  the  super- 
natural, Sight  against  Faith,  which  has  been  the  irrepressi- 
ble conflidt  of  ages.  The  Apostle  Paul  found  the  same 
35 


546 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


thing  at  Corinth;  and  the  reason  he  gave  for  it  then  will 
account  for  it  to-day:  "The  preaching  of  the  cross  is  to 
them  that  perish  foolishness,  but  unto  us  who  are  saved, 
it  is  the  power  of  God."  (i  Cor.  i:  i8.) 

3.  Christianity  is  the  Religion  of  Faith. 

No  higher  encomium  could  be  pronounced  upon  Chris- 
tianity than  is  contained  in  this  statement.  Christ's  king- 
dom is  not  of  this  world.  Hence,  the  religion  which  he 
established  is  not  carnal,  but  spiritual.  Christianity,  then, 
rises  far  above  the  sensuous  and  rational,  and  rests  its 
claim  on  Divine  authority.  Which?  is  the  question  Pa- 
ganism or  Ritualism  asks.  It  seeks  after  only  the  agree- 
able and  pleasant— those  things  which  satisfy  the  demands 
of  the  senses — while  Rationalism  is  equally  persistent  in 
pressing  the  everlasting  Why?  looking  only  for  the  cause 
or  reason  of  things,  and  attempting  to  solve  the  mysteries 
of  our  present  state  by  the  revelations  of  science.  But  the 
question  which  Christianity  asks  is  What?  and  has  respedl, 
not  to  pleasure  or  philosophy,  but  to  duty.  With  all  its 
qualifying  words,  it  stands  thus:  Lord,  what  wilt  Thou 

HAVE  ME  TO  DO? 

It  should  ever  be  remembered  that  Christianity  is  not  a 
religion  of  pleasure,  but  of  self-abnegation,  of  self-cruci- 
fixion. We  are  constantly  exhorted  to  "deny  ourselves," 
to  "keep  the  body  under,"  to  "crucify  the  lusts  of  the 
flesh,"  and  to  "suffer  for  righteousness'  sake;"  showing 
clearly  that  the  enjoyment  derived  from  the  service  of 
Christ  is  not  sensuous,  but  spiritual.  As  followers  of 
Jesus,  we  may  exped  to  meet  innumerable  crosses;  and 
if  this  were  not  so,  we  might  question  our  final  triumph, 
for  it  is  only  by  the  Cross  we  reach  the  Crown. 

This  peculiarity  of  the  Christian  religion  seems  to  have 


W.  T.  MOORE. 


547 


been  very  generally  overlooked  by  our  modern  system- 
makers,  who  would  like  to  have  the  charities  of  the  Gos- 
pel include  all  the  follies  and  pleasures  of  mankind;  but, 
He  who  spake  as  never  man  spake,  said:  "Wide  is  the 
gate,  and  broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruftion,  and 
many  there  be  that  go  in  thereat:  because  straight  is  the 
gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way,  which  leadeth  to  life,  and  few 
there  be  that  find  it."  (Matt,  vii:  13,  14.) 

It  becomes,  therefore,  a  matter  of  great  importance  to 
determine  by  what  principles  we  are  guided  in  our  relig- 
ious ad:s.  Is  our  service  the  "obedience  of  faith,"  or  the 
obedience  of  sight?  Are  we  seeking  to  gratify  the  senses, 
or  to  adorn  and  beautify  the  spirit?  Is  cur  service  mere 
lip-service,  or  do  we  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth?  A 
proper  answer  to  these  questions  will  do  much  toward  de- 
termining our  true  relations  to  Christ. 

If  you  wish  to  see  how  wide-spread  and  how  desolat- 
ing the  religion  of  Sight  is,  go  to  the  people,  and  talk  to 
them  about  obeying  the  Gospel.  You  will  constantly  hear 
such  expressions  as  these:  "Every  body  should  belong 
to  some  church;"  "I  prefer  the  Presbyterian  Church;" 
"The  Episcopal  %^xv\z&  suits  me  best — it  is  so  beautiful;" 
"  I  like  Dr.  A.,  and  I  will  join  his  church,"  etc.  All  these 
clearly  indicate  that  self-satisfaction  is  the  principal 
thing  aimed  at.  Esthetics,  and  not  Christ,  is  the  objedl 
of  the  worship  of  thousands.  Poor  sinners,  this  is  not  the 
kind  of  obedience  Christ  demands.  What  you  like  or  dis- 
like has  nothing  to  do  with  your  salvation,  and  is  not  the 
question  for  you  to  consider.  You  must  walk  by  Faith,  and 
not  by  Sight.  The  all-absorbing,  all-important  question  is, 
IVhat  does  the  Lord  say?  When  this  is  satisfadlorily  answered, 
you  can  go  forward,  with  the  blessed  assurance  that  you 
can  "do  all  things  through  Christ,  who  strengthens  you." 


548 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


But  again:  What  business  have  you  with  the  reason  of 
the  command?  Can  you  expedl  to  fathom  the  deep  pur- 
poses of  God?  Why,  you  can  not  explain  the  most  fa- 
miliar thing.  If,  when  surveying  the  legitimate  realms 
of  philosophy,  you  frequently  stumble  and  fall,  can  you 
expedl  to  walk  by  Sight  a  single  moment  in  religion? 
Should  you  entertain  such  an  idea,  let  me  assure  you  that 
Faith  alone  can  lead  you  through  the  darkness  of  the  pres- 
ent to  a  bright  and  glorious  future. 

II.  The  Analogy  between  Faith  and  Sight. 
The  New  Testament  abounds  in  analogical  teaching,  but 
the  great  Teacher  more  especially  excels  in  this  method  of 
presenting  truth.  Nothing  could  be  more  striking,  and 
certainly  nothing  more  instrudtive,  than  this  method,  when 
properly  used.  Besides  the  particular  truth  it  unfolds,  in 
any  given  case,  it  teaches  us  the  general  truth  that  material 
things  are  to  be  valued,  not  as  an  end,  but  as  a  means;  and 
that,  therefore,  the  Senses  and  the  Reason  are  but  instru- 
ments by  which  the  soul  travels  toward  the  regions  of  Faith, 
and  are  only  useful  while  operating  in  their  proper  spheres. 
Hence  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  trespass  upon  the 
dominion  of  Faith,  for  it  can  hold  no  partnerships,  make 
no  compromises;  it  must  have  undisputed  and  unlimited 
control  over  its  own.  Let  us  now  examine  the  analogy  be- 
tween Faith  and  Sight.    Sight  clearly  implies  three  things : 

1.  The  organ  of  sight — the  eye. 

2.  The  medium  of  sight — light. 

3.  An  objedl  upon  which  to  look. 

Now  when  these  three  things  are  perfe6t  there  will  be 
perfed  vision  ;  but  remove  one — no  matter  which — and 
there  can  be  no  vision  at  all.  Precisely  so  is  it  with  Faith. 
Three  things  are  necessary  to  it  also : 


W.  T.  MOORE. 


549 


I.  There  must  be  the  organ  of  Faith — the  capacity  to  believe. 

Have  we  this  capacity?  Are  we  capable  of  believing 
truth  when  it  is  presented  before  us?  Certainly  no  one 
ought  to  hesitate  in  answering  these  questions.  But, 
stiange  to  say,  some  men  have  doubted  our  capacity  to  be- 
lieve— men,  too,  who  are  regarded  as  lights  in  the  Church, 
and  whose  opinions  carry  with  them  great  weight.  Surely, 
such  men  do  not  understand  what  they  teach. 

I  do  not  propose  to  discuss  this  question.  In  fadl,  it 
is  not  a  question  within  the  range  of  legitimate  discussion. 
It  is  a  question  of  experience,  and  can  be  decided  only  by 
an  appeal  to  every  man's  consciousness.  Every  man  must 
decide  for  himself;  no  one  can  do  it  for  him.  True,  the 
aggregate  testimony  of  men  can  be  taken,  but  the  ques- 
tion then  becomes  a  matter  of  Faith,  the  ridiculousness  of 
which  will  appear  when  an  individual  attempts  to  express 
himself  in  the  language  which  this  position  forces  him  to 
use.  "I  believe  that  I  can  believe,"  is  not  very  passable 
English,  and  certainly  does  not  sound  out  with  the  same 
assurance  as  "I  know  that  I  can  believe."  The  question, 
then,  is  not  one  of  faith  or  philosophy,  but  of  actual  knowl- 
edge. In  order  to  make  my  meaning  more  fully  under- 
stood, I  will  illustrate:  For  several  hours,  upon  a  pair  of 
scales,  suspended  by  a  rope,  you  have  been  weighing  a  thou- 
sand pounds  at  a  time.  A  gentleman  steps  up,  and,  after 
examining  the  rope,  and  making  a  long  and  intricate  calcu- 
lation, he  gravely  informs  you  that  he  thoroughly  under- 
stands the  philosophy  of  ropes,  and  that  this  one  is  not 
now,  and  never  was,  capable  of  bearing  up  more  than  five 
hundred  pounds?  What  would  you  think  of  this  man's 
philosophy  ?  And  how  long  would  you  stop  to  reason  with 
him  about  the  matter?   If  you  were  to  consume  time  with 


55^ 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


him  at  all,  you  would  simply  say  to  him,  "lhat  you  did 
not  cate  what  his  philosophy  taught;  that  you  had  tried 
the  rope  sufficiently,  and  knew,  from  adual  experience,  that 
he  was  mistaken."  So  say  to  every  man  that  doubts  vour 
ability  to  believe  the  Gospel. 

2.  'There  must  be  the  medium  of  Faith. 

The  apostle  says :  "  Faith  comes  by  hearing,  and  hearing 
by  the  word  of  God."  (Rom.  x:  17.)  This,  then,  settles 
the  question  as  to  what  is  the  medium  of  Faith.  Clearly, 
it  is  the  Word  of  God.  And  this  at  once  elevates  our  view 
of  that  Word,  and  gives  us  better  conceptions  of  the  pre- 
ciousness  of  Faith.  We  bless  the  hand  that  bears  us  the 
gift.  In  what  reverence,  then,  should  we  hold  the  Word 
of  God,  which  brings  to  us  such  a  glorious  gift  as  Faith! 

3.  Faith  must  have  an  obje5l — something  upon  which  to 
rest. 

What  is  this  objedl.''  Let  the  Holy  Scriptures  answer: 
"God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life;"  "This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye 
believe  on  him  whom  he  hath  sent;"  "He  that  believeth 
on  me  hath  everlasting  life;  "  "Ye  believe  in  God,  believe 
also  in  me;"  ''''Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved."  Many  other  passages  could  be  quoted, 
but  these  are  deemed  sufficient  to  show  that  the  objedl  of 
our  Faith  is  the  precious  Savior.  And  what  a  blessed  fa6l 
this  is!  How  consoling  to  the  heart  that  is  tired  of  the 
endless  controversies  about  creeds  and  doctrines !  And 
with  what  joyful  trust  does  the  poor,  houseless  wanderer 
come  to  this  sure  foundation-stone  which  God  has  laid  in 
Zion  !   The  Christian's  Faith  is  not  do^rinal,  but  personal ; 


W.  T.  MOORE. 


not  belief  in  a  theory^  but  in  a  Divine  and  glorious  char- 
aBer;  not  the  reception  of  a  cold,  lifeless  dogma,  but  a 
hearty,  earnest  trust  in  one  whose  love  is  stronger  than  a 
brother  s;  who  is  "touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmi- 
ties; "  who  "knows  our  frame,  and  remembers  that  we  are 
dust." 

But  let  us  notice  in  what  particulars  Christ  addresses 
our  confidence.  Is  he  worthy?  Certainly  he  who  has  been 
appointed  "  heir  of  all  things ;  "  "by  whom  the  worlds  were 
made;  "  who  is  the  "brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and 
the  express  image  of  his  person;"  who  is  "seated  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high;"  whose  "  throne  is  for 
ever  and  ever;"  who  "loves  righteousness  and  who  hates 
iniquity;  "  and  "  whom  all  the  angels  worship,"  is  worthy 
of  our  most  unqualified  trust  and  our  highest  adoration. 

Has  he  done  any  thing  for  us  that  entitles  him  to  our  confi- 
dence? Read  his  history.  Follow  him  from  his  birth  to 
the  last  scenes  on  Calvary.  His  life  was  one  of  toil,  sor- 
row, and  self-denial,  that  he  might  teach  us  "how  sublime 
a  thing  it  is  to  suffer  and  be  strong."  But  who  can  wit- 
ness his  last  dying  agony  on  the  Cross  without  exclaim- 
ing— 

■  "Were  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine. 
That  were  a  present  far  too  small ; 
Love  so  amazing,  so  Divine, 

Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all." 

Will  he  certainly  save  us  if  we  put  our  trust  in  him  ?  What 
penitent  believer  did  he  ever  turn  away ?  "He  would  not 
have  any  to  perish,  but  all  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth."  Do  we  want  a  Savior  who  is  willing  to  save? 
fesus  is  ever  willing.  Must  he  have  the  official  charadler 
of  a  Savior  ?  Christ  is  anointed  to  save.  But  do  you  say 
he  must  have  power  to  save?    T!he  Lord  is  '■''able  to  save 


552 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  to  God  by  him."  Sinner,  be- 
lieve on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 

III.  The  superiority  of  Faith  over  Sight. 

Numerous  examples  illustrating  the  truth  of  this  prop- 
osition may  be  found  in  both  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  In  fa6l,  from  that  memorable  occasion 
in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  when  Sight  was  first  brought  into 
antagonism  with  Faith,  till  the  present  time,  the  history 
of  the  world  is  but  a  succession  of  events  attesting  the 
superior  excellence  of  Faith.  Sight,  when  followed  beyond 
its  legitimate  sphere,  has  ever  led  mankind  astray.  Its 
dazzling  beauty,  its  splendid  attire,  and  its  fascinating 
charms  are  well  calculated  to  captivate  those  who  trust  in 
appearances.  But  it  is  only  necessary  to  examine  the  rec- 
ords of  the  past,  and  our  own  experience,  to  understand 
how  deceitful  is  all  this  display,  and  how  unworthy  it  is 
of  our  confidence. 

Not  so  of  Faith.  It  offers  no  enchanting  prospers  in 
this  life.  Its  promises  here  are  self-denial,  toil,  struggle, 
sorrow,  and  disappointments ;  but  its  history  is  full  of  im- 
mortal heroes  and  glorious  triumphs.  After  a  while  its 
work  will  be  accomplished,  and  then  those  who  "have 
kept  the  faith"  will,  with  the  Apostle  Paul,  receive  a 
"crown  of  righteousness"  which  shall  never  fade  away. 

But  let  us  now  consider  wherein  consists  Faith's  supe- 
riority. 

I .  //  has  a  more  extended  view  than  Sight. 

Whoever  attempts  to  walk  by  Sight  will  not  be  long  in 
finding  out  the  shortness  of  his  vision.  He  will  find  that 
life  is  full  of  labyrinths  he  can  not  thread,  while  every- 
where he  will  meet  untold  mysteries  he  can  not  explain. 


W.  T.  MOOFE. 


553 


Discouraged  by  his  failures,  and  bewildered  by  the  diffi- 
culties of  his  situation,  he  will  very  possibly  despair  of 
relief,  and  accept  one  of  the  inevitable  alternatives  of  des- 
peration, viz.:  dissipation,  solitude,  or  suicide,  either  of 
which  will  unfit  him  for  the  land  of  the  great  hereafter. 

But  the  horizon  of  Faith  is  not  so  limited.  The  apos- 
tle's description  will  help  us  to  understand  its  extent: 
"  Faith  is  the  foundation  of  things  hoped  for,  the  convic- 
tion of  things  not  seen."  (Heb.  xi:  i.)  That  is,  it  stands 
under  all  the  future,  and  convinces  of  all  the  past.  It 
is,  therefore,  master  of  the  invisible  world,  and  is  to  the 
spiritual  world  what  Sight  is  to  the  material.  With  this 
wonderful  telescope  we  can  survey  every  step  of  human 
progress,  and  understand  every  path  of  human  duty. 

2.  Faith  is  more  truthful  than  Sight. 

Things  are  not  here  what  they  seem  to  be.  Deception 
lurks  in  the  most  inviting  prospedls.  We  see  only  the 
outside.  We  do  not  penetrate  to  the  real  essence.  We  are 
intoxicated  with  qualities,  and  show  our  aptness  by  com- 
pounding relations,  but  we  only  deceive  ourselves,  and  de- 
monstrate that — 

"This  world  is  all  a  fleeting  show. 

For  man's  illusion  given ; 
The  smiles  of  joy,  the  tears  of  woe 
Deceitful  shine,  deceitful  flow. 

There 's  nothing  true  but  heaven." 

Sight  takes  cognizance  of  things  as  they  appear;  Faith 
sees  them  as  they  are.  Sight  sees  that  which  is  visible ; 
Faith  sees  only  the  unseen.  One  deceives,  and  often  leads 
astray;  the  other  deals  honestly  with  us,  and  tells  us  the 
truth.    When  was  any  one  ever  disappointed  who  walked 


554 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


by  Faith  ?  You  will  search  the  records  of  the  past  in  vain 
for  a  single  example.  On  the  contrary,  however,  you  will 
find  that  the  "obedience  of  faith"  has  always  been  richly 
rewarded.    I  can  refer  to  only  a  few  instances. 

As  the  children  of  Israel  journeyed  from  Mount  Hot, 
by  the  way  of  the  Red  Sea,  to  compass  the  land  of  Edom, 
they  became  much  discouraged  because  of  the  way,  and 
complained  bitterly  against  God  and  Moses  for  having 
brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  to  die  in  the  wil- 
derness. And  the  Lord  sent  fiery  serpents  among  them, 
to  punish  them  for  their  unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart. 
From  the  bite  of  these  serpents,  many  of  the  people  died. 
After  which,  those  remaining  confessed  their  sins,  and  be- 
sought Moses  that  he  would  pray  the  Lord  to  have  the 
curse  removed.  The  Lord  instrufted  Moses  to  make  a 
brazen  serpent,  and  set  it  upon  a  pole,  and  said  it  should 
come  to  pass  that  every  one  who  was  bitten,  when  he 
looked  upon  it,  should  live. 

Could  any  thing  have  been  more  unphilosophical  than 
this  remedy?  How  unlike  the  materia  medica  of  Sight! 
Suppose  some  modern  physician  were  to  suggest  such  a 
remedy  for  the  bite  of  serpents  now,  what,  think  you,  ouf 
learned  doctors  of  medicine  would  say  of  him?  Would 
they  be  likely  to  regard  him  as  sane  ?  Not  unless  they 
should  exercise  more  charity  than  they  are  in  the  habit  of 
doing  toward  adventurers  in  their  profession.  But  these 
Israelites  were  not  to  seek  for  the  reason  of  the  command; 
they  were  to  walk  by  Faith — simply  to  look  and  live.  When 
they  had  obeyed,  were  they  disappointed?  No  matter 
how  unpromising  the  thing  appeared,  was  not  the  Faith  of 
every  poor,  suffering  Israelite, who  looked  to  the  remedy 
instantly  and  amply  rewarded  ? 

The  destruction  of  the  walls  of  Jericho  is  another  strik- 


W.  T.  MOORE. 


555 


fng  illustration  of  the  fidelity  of  Faith  to  her  promises. 
What  if  some  modern  Joshua  should  establish  a  school 
of  military  tadics  in  accordance  with  the  programme  of 
that  siege?  Does  not  the  very  thought  excite  a  smile  on 
the  face  of  every  war-worn  veteran  in  all  the  land  ^  Nev- 
ertheless, when  the  Israelites  had  compassed  the  city,  as 
commanded,  their  Faith  met  no  disappointment — tne  walls 
of  the  city  fell 

3.  Faith  is  more  powerful  than  Sight. 

There  is  nothing,  perhaps,  in  which  we  are  so  constantly 
cheated  as  in  our  estimate  of  power.  We  are  accustomed 
to  look  for  it  in  noise  and  great  display;  but  nothing 
could  be  more  unwise,  for  real  power  moves  in  silent 
courses.  It  is  not  in  the  thunder's  deep,  portentous 
roar,  but  in  the  lightning  which  sleeps  in  the  storm-cloud. 
Sight  is  forever  thundering  in  our  ears  its  arrogant  boasts, 
while  it  is  only  able  to  make  display;  but  Faith  goes  on  in 
silence,  and  overcomes  the  world. 

It  would  be  both  a  pleasant  and  profitable  exercise  to 
notice  the  many  conditions  in  life  where  Faith  manifests 
its  superior  power,  but  a  few  must  suffice. 

The  most  self-sacrificing  service,which  God  requires  of 
us.  Faith  can  make  easy.  Abraham  offering  up  his  son 
Isaac  is  a  fine  illustration  of  this.  What  could  have  more 
severely  taxed  Abraham's  fidelity  to  God  than  the  ad 
he  was  required  to  perform  ?  It  was  paternal  love  and 
Faith  in  confiift;  a  struggle  between  a  father's  affedion  for 
his  son — his  only  son — and  resped  for  the  commandment 
of  God.  Faith  gained  the  vidory;  and,  on  this  account, 
Abraham  is  called  the  "  father  of  the  faithful." 

Faith  also  enables  us  to  endure  the  severest  trials  with- 
out murmuring.    The  Bible  is  full  of  splendid  examples 


556 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


illustrating  the  truth  of  this  statement,  and  the  history  of 
the  Church  bears  overwhelming  testimony  in  its  favor. 
With  what  eloquence  does  the  long  list  of  martyred  saints 
speak  on  this  subjedl!  The  names  of  such  glorious  heroes 
as  John  Huss,  John  Rogers,  and  William  Tyndale,  tell 
how  true  it  is  that  faith  in  Christ  is  able  to  sustain  us 
through  the  darkest  hour  of  trial. 

Again:  it  is  a  glorious  fad:  that,  when  we  are  exposed 
to  the  greatest  dangers,  Faith  gives  us  courage,  and  lights 
up  our  pathway.  During  a  storm  at  sea,  a  ship,  which 
had  for  a  long  time  breasted  the  fury  of  the  waves,  was, 
at  last,  apparently  about  to  go  down.  All  on  board  were 
in  the  wildest  state  of  excitement,  except  one  man,  who 
remained  perfedly  composed,  and  seemingly  indifferent  to 
the  danger  which  threatened  him.  His  wife,  noticing  his 
calm  demeanor,  and  not  understanding  the  meaning  of  it, 
asked  him  how  he  could  appear  so  resigned  in  the  pres- 
ence of  so  great  peril.  He  immediately  drew  a  dagger, 
and  presented  it  at  her  heart.  Said  he:  "Are  you  not 
afraid  of  this  dagger?"  "No,"  she  answered,  as  the  tears 
streamed  down  her  pale  cheeks.  "And  why  are  you  not 
afraid  of  it  ?"  he  continued.  "  Because,"  said  she,  "z/  is 
in  the  hands  of  my  dear  husbands  "  Neither  am  I  afraid 
of  the  storm,"  said  .he;  '■'•because  it  is  in  the  hands  of  my 
heavenly  Father.  I  know  that  he  loves  me,  and  doeth  all 
things  well."  This  man  walked  by  Faith,  and  Faith  gave 
him  perfed  resignation.  "  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will 
I  trust  him,"  is  not  the  language  of  weak,  hesitating,  stam- 
mering Sight. 

Finally:  Faith's  conflids,  though  they  may  seem  doubt- 
ful for  a  time,  never  fail  to  end  in  vidbry.  How  many 
sad  and  weary  hearts,  worn  down  by  the  long,  long  night 
of  toil,  are  inspired  with  a  new  hope  and  new  life  by  the 


V^.  T.  MOORE. 


557 


quickening  rays  of  this  blessed  assurance!  All  along  the 
lines  of  the  struggling  soldiers  of  the  Cross,  I  see  unmis- 
takable evidences  of  a  forward  movement,  as  they  unitedly 
pronounce  the  cheering  words  of  the  apostle :  "  Thanks 
be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  vidtory,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  our  heavenly  Father  could 
have  given  us  more  evidence  than  he  has  that  Faith  is 
stronger  than  Sight.  We  have  seen  that  philosophy  clearly 
suggests  it;  that  history  speaks  but  one  voice  on  the  sub- 
jedt,  and  that  the  heroes  of  the  Bible,  to  whom  we  have 
referred,  exemplify  it  in  their  lives.  "And  what  shall  I 
more  say?  For  the  time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  Gedeon, 
and  of  Barak,  and  of  Samson,  and  of  Jephthae;  of  David 
also,  and  Samuel,  and  of  the  prophets  :  who,  through 
Faith,  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained 
promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the  vio- 
lence of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of  weak- 
ness were  made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to 
flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens."  (Heb.  xi  :  32—35.) 

I  feel  that  enough  has  been  said  to  convince  the  most 
skeptical  mind  that  only  Faith  is  able  to  lead  us  to  certain 
and  glorious  vi6tory. 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  let  me  urge  upon  you  the  im- 
portance of  following  the  lead  of  Faith.  The  things  of 
Sight  can  never  bring  happiness,  though  the  world,  with 
all  its  stores,  were  placed  at  your  feet.  The  history  of 
Solomon  is  re-ena6led  in  the  history  of  every  man  who 
seeks  for  happiness  in  the  unsubstantial  pleasures  of  this 
world:  "All  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit,  and  there 
is  no  profit  under  the  sun." 

But,  even  allowing  that  there  is  a  degree  of  real  pleasure 
in  pursuing  the  things  of  Sight,  they  can  not  remain  with 


THE  LIVING  PqLPIT. 


you  long,  for  decay  is  written  upon  them  all — all  is  chang- 
ing, passing,  fleeting — 

"  The  sweetest  and  dearest,  alas !  will  not  stay." 

Where  are  the  companions  of  your  youth  ?  "  The 
fathers,  where  are  they?  and  the  prophets,  do  they  live 
forever?"  Look  back  upon  the  past.  How  many  of  life's 
fondest  treasures  lie  buried  there!  How  many  cherished 
hopes  and  dazzling  prospers  sleep  within  that  tomb  of 
ages  !  When,  O  when,  will  the  world  understand  the 
folly  of  trusting  the  things  of  Sight ! 

Dear  brethren,  let  us  heed  the  voice  of  heavenly  wis- 
dom, and  "look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at 
the  things  which  are  not  seen :  for  the  things  which  are 
seen  are  temporal ;  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are 
eternal."  "Let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing,"  but  toil 
on  and  suffer,  if  needs  be,  yet  a  little  while;  "for  in  due 
season  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not." 

"Soon  shall  close  our  earthly  mission. 
Soon  shall  pass  our  pilgrim  days; 
Hope  shall  change  to  glad  fruition, 
Faith  to  Sight,  and  prayer  to  praise." 


ALLEN  RICHARDSON  BENTON. 


A  ILEN  RICHARDSON  BENTON,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ira, 
Cayuga  County,  New  York,  Oftober  i,  1822.  Very  early  in  life  he 
had  an  ardent  desire  for  learning,  which  was  fully  gratified  by  his  parents 
until,  from  too  much  mental  labor,  his  health  failed,  which  made  it  neces- 
sary for  him  to  give  up  his  studies,  and  seek  the  restoration  of  physical 
strength  in  laboring  on  a  farm.  This  was  a  severe  stroke  to  his  youthful 
ambition;  but  he  submitted  to  it  as  gracefully  as  he  could,  with  the  hope 
that  he  would  yet  be  able  to  complete  his  education. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen,  under  the  preaching  of  Dr.  S.  E.  Shepard  and 
John  M.  Bartlett,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  having  entirely  recovered  his  health,  the  old 
desire  for  learning  revived,  and,  after  due  preparation  at  the  Fulton  Acad- 
emy, New  York,  in  the  fall  of  1845,  he  was  matriculated  in  Bethany  Col- 
lege. While  at  college,  he  was  distinguished  for  close  application  to  his 
studies,  integrity  of  charafter,  and  a  faithful  discharge  of  all  his  obligations 
as  a  student  and  Christian.  He  was  graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  July, 
1847,  dividing  the  first  honors  of  his  class  with  Robert  Graham,  now 
Presiding  Officer  of  the  College  of  Arts  in  Kentucky  University,  he  de- 
livering the  Greek,  and  Graham  the  Latin  salutatory. 

In  the  fall  of  1848  he  became  permanently  established  as  Principal  of 
Fairview  Academy,  Rush  County,  Indiana,  in  which  place  he  continued 
six  years,  during  which  time  he  succeeded  in  building  up  a  highly  pros- 
perous school.  He  was  married,  June  26,  1851,  to  Silence  Howard, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Howard,  of  Volney,  New  York. 

Having  been  elefted  to  the  Professorship  of  Ancient  Languages  in  North- 
western Christian  University,  he  spent  part  of  the  year  1 854  attending  the 
Rochester  University,  New  York,  in  the  study  of  the  Hebrew,  under  the 
instruction  of  Dr.  Conant. 

In  the  spring  of  1855,  he  opened  a  preparatory  school  in  the  North- 
western Christian  University  buildings,  and,  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year, 
the  college  was  opened.    He  continued  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of 

(559) 


560 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


the  Chair  of  Ancient  Languages  until  the  summer  of  1861,  when  he  was 
elefted  President  of  the  University,  which  position  he  still  occupies. 

During  all  the  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  teaching,  as  opportunity 
offered,  he  has  done  good  service  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  has 
been,  for  several  years,  an  efficient  elder  in  the  Church  at  Indianapolis. 

President  Benton  has  a  somewhat  feeble  physical  organization,  but  pos- 
sesses a  strong,  vigorous,  aftive  intelleft.  He  is  quick  in  his  movements, 
and  his  mind  is  charadlerized  by  very  sharp  angles.  He  throws  his  whole 
soul  into  whatever  he  undertakes;  and  his  career  demonstrates  that  he  is 
not  deficient  in  executive  talent  and  mental  power. 


RETRIBUTION. 


BY  A.  R.  BENTON. 


"For  what  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." — Gal.  vi:  7. 

IN  the  formation  of  charadler,  and  in  the  pradical  con- 
cerns of  life,  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  keep  in 
mind  the  natural  connexion  between  cause  and  effedt — be- 
tween an  adion  and  its  consequences.  That  there  is  a  nat- 
ural tie,  which  inevitably  binds  an  a<5l  to  its  consequence, 
s  a  truth  obvious  in  every  department  of  nature.  This, 
ilso,  is  the  plain  inculcation  of  our  text — that  whatever  a 
man  sows,  that  he  also  shall  reap. 

According  to  the  reasoning  of  the  apostle,  it  is  no  more 
.latural  to  gather  a  crop  after  the  kind  of  seed  sown,  than  to 
look  for  definite  and  invariable  results  in  our  moral  hus- 
Dandry.  Whatever  of  certainty  in  results  is  incorporated 
into  the  physical  economy  of  God,  the  same  certainty  is  an 
invariable  constituent  of  his  moral  system ;  and  it  is  as 
difficult  to  elude  and  baffle  the  latter  as  the  former. 

It  is  a  pleasing  truth  for  our  contemplation,  that  the 
Great  Designer  of  all  things  has  given,  in  his  physical  uni- 
verse, some  intimations  of  what  he  is  in  his  moral  admin- 
istration— that  the  excellencies  of  a  spiritual  life  may  be 
refledled  from  the  relationships  of  earth;  and  that  material 
36  '  (561) 


562 


THE  LIVING  PUIPIT. 


things  may  become  to  us  sacred  hieroglyphics,  by  which 
to  read  the  things  that  are  spiritual. 

Upon  this  conception  of  the  relation  of  the  material 
to  the  spiritual,  are  the  parables  of  the  Savior  founded. 
Like  the  tabernacle,  which  was  made  after  the  form  of  a 
heavenly  pattern,  so  the  earth,  with  all  its  forces  and  pro- 
cesses, is  a  copy  and  intimation  of  a  higher  state.  Thus 
a  harmonious  and  lasting  unity  runs  through  all  the  works 
of  God,  binding  heaven  and  earth  in  one  glorious  universe 
— demonstrating  the  oneness  of  creative  power,  and  the 
oneness  of  administration,  by  Him,"  who  filleth  all  in  all," 

Nothing,  perhaps,  would  deter  more  efFedually  from 
the  commission  of  crime — nothing  would  restrain  more 
vigorously  the  obliquities  of  human  condudt,  than  a  de- 
cided conviction  that  God's  moral  and  spiritual  laws  are 
as  immutable  as  his  physical  laws.  No  man,  in  contempt 
of  the  law  of  gravitation,  plunges  down  a  precipice;  yet 
millions  eagerly  leap  down  all  the  steeps  of  sin  into  the 
very  abyss  of  Tartarus  and  perdition. 

Is  it  because  men  prize  less  highly,  or  conserve  less 
carefully,  their  spiritual  concerns.?  By  no  means.  It  is 
because  the  consequences  of  vice,  folly,  or  shameless  wick- 
edness are  not  believed  as  being  certain,  and,  by  the  con- 
stitution of  nature,  inevitable.  Heaven  and  earth  may 
pass  away,  but  the  word  of  God  shall  never  pass  away. 
His  moral  system  will  continue  with  its  primal  and  peren- 
nial freshness,  when  the  present  physical  order  of  things 
shall  have  undergone  an  entire  change. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied,  that  an  impression  is  widely  prev- 
alent, with  resped  to  the  dissimilarity  of  God's  moral  and 
physical  government.  In  the  physical  economy,  his  laws 
are  admitted  to  be  fixed  and  immutable;  and  no  sane  man 
expedls  to  evade  the  penalty  of  outraged  law.   "  The  thou- 


A.  R.  BRNTON. 


563 


sand  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to"  are  conceded  to  be  the  naru- 
ral  sequences  of  personal  or  ancestral  transgression.  Tel  I 
a  man  that  health  and  longevity  depend  invariably  on  the 
observance  of  laws  in  which  there  is  no  chance — no  arbi- 
trary interference  of  some  capricious  power — and  it  will 
receive  his  unqualified  assent.  Tell  him  that  every  grati- 
fication of  inordinate  appetite — that  intemperance  and  dis- 
soluteness will  bring  with  them  a  train  of  ills  fearful  and 
indescribable,  in  the  eclipsing  of  the  flaming  brilliancy  of 
the  mind,  and  in  paralyzing  and  prostrating  the  powers  of 
the  body,  and  he  can  give  it  no  denial. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  when  you  come  to  speak  of  the 
retributions  which  inexorably  pursue  the  man  who  violates 
the  laws  of  his  moral  being,  you  are  met  with  distrust  and 
chilling  skepticism.  I  n  this  department  of  God's  universe, 
multitudes  see  nothing  but  chaos,  disorder,  and  capricious 
chance.  The  hedic  hue  of  health  is  upon  the  face  of  their 
pursuits  and  enjoyments,  while  the  virus  of  death  lurks 
in  the  vitals.  In  their  vocabulary,  there  is  no  such  phrase 
as  the  "evil  of  sin."  They  have  perturbations  and  dis- 
quietudes of  mind,  it  is  true,  but  these  are  charged  to 
physical,  rather  than  to  moral  causes. 

Because  of  this  lurking  and  pervading  distrust,  a  false 
and  fatal  indiff^erence  to  the  moral  quality  of  adions  is 
painfully  evident  in  the  pleasures  and  pursuits  of  life. 

In  our  daily  experience  we  have  a  proof  of  God's  in- 
tolerance of  sin,  and  an  incontestible  evidence  that  he  will 
not  allow  it  to  go  unpunished. 

If  his  displeasure  at  sin  was  as  transient  as  our  concern; 
if  his  estimate  of  its  guilt  as  5mall  as  our  sense  of  danger, 
why  does  he  visit  us'all  with  death,  to  us  the  most  certain 
and  inexorable  of  all  events  ?  This  experience,  unknown 
to  sinless  angels,  and  one  from  which  the  whole  sentient 


564 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


creation  shrinks,  is  inflidted  with  pitiless  constancy  on 
every  child  of  Adam. 

If  God  regards  the  moral  evil  of  the  world  with  that 
complacency  with  which  the  world  regards  it,  why  such  a 
hard  dispensation  to  the  children  of  men  ?  For  death, 
with  remorseless  certainty,  as  a  keen  scytheman,  cuts  down 
the  fair  and  blooming  in  all  the  successive  generations  of 
men. 

In  the  moanings  of  pain,  in  the  tortures  of  remorseful 
despair,  in  the  wild  agonies  of  death,  we  have  emphatic 
testimony  that  God  hates  moral  evil,  and  will  certainly 
punish  it,  if  not  abandoned  with  penitence.  The  sting  of 
death  is  sin.  It  is,  therefore,  delusive  to  cherish  the  im- 
agination, that  retribution  for  infracftion  of  God's  moral 
law  is  not  certain.  It  is  the  most  certain  of  all,  for  most 
of  all  is  he  incensed  at  the  violation  of  his  moral  laws. 
The  great  central  truth  of  God's  moral  government  is, 
that  he  governs  adively  toward  moral,  and  not  physical 
ends  ;  and  hence,  every  thing  which  conduces  to  this  re- 
sult will  especially  please  him,  and  not  go  unrewarded. 

As  a  Creator,  God  may  be  said  to  have  physical  plans 
and  ends  to  reach  ;  but  as  a  Father,  which  is  the  highest 
relation  revealed  to  us,  or  conceivable  by  us,  he  has  moral 
purposes  to  serve.  And  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  he  will  certainly  smile  with  benignity  upon  such  as 
adl  in  harmony  with  his  moral  purposes,  and  frown  with 
indignant  displeasure  upon  such  as  seek  to  subvert  his 
moral  order  and  designs  ? 

That  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the  certainty  of  its  punish- 
ment, may  stand  out  more  .vividly  before  the  mind,  we 
pass  from  these  general  considerations  to  more  minuteness 
of  specification. 

I.  And  first,  with  respeft  to  the  evil  of  sin.    It  is,  with- 


A.  R.  BENTON. 


5^5 


out  doubt,  true  that  the  tone  of  general  literature  is  in 
palliation  of  the  turpitude  of  sin.  Its  sharp,  harsh  out- 
lines of  offense  are  softened  down  by  the  euphemisms  of 
a  skeptical  imagination.  Again,  it  is  often  looked  upon 
as  a  theological  subtlety  of  professional  interest,  and  a 
subjedt  for  cloister  meditation;  while,  by  others,  its  exist- 
ence may  not  be  denied,  it  is  regarded  as  something  born 
with  a  man,  a  kind  of  moral  taint,  that  no  moral  disinfedl- 
ant  can  wholly  remove — a  transmitted  virus  that  corrupts 
and  poisons  all  with  which  it  comes  in  contaft. 

In  the  Bible,  the  nature  of  sin,  and  the  magnitude  of 
its  evil,  receives  no  such  complacent  handling.  It  is  rep- 
resented as  the  sting  of  death — that  it  can  kill  the  soul, 
and  inflift  unrespited  torment  forever.  All  voluntary 
wrong-doing  is  sin.  It  is  to  resist  our  sense  of  right,  to 
negled:  acknowledged  duty,  or  to  disregard  the  laws  of 
justice,  integrity,  and  benevolence  toward  men,  or,  in  the 
highest  sense,  to  fail  in  our  duties  to  God. 

The  Scriptures  are  full  and  explicit  in  affirming  that  all 
pains,  affli6tions,  and  losses  are  light  matters  compared 
with  the  guilt  of  voluntary  wrong-doing;  that  to  lose  a 
right  eye  or  right  hand  would  be  preferable  far  to  a  stain 
upon  the  soul,  which  may  tarnish  its  beauty  forever.  This 
uniform  testimony  of  Scripture  is  in  perfect  accord  with 
human  reason  and  experience.  Take  a  man  who  has  never 
occupied  himself  with  the  study  of  questions  of  morality 
and  religion,  and  set  before  him  the  case  of  a  man  who 
has  become  rich  by  extortion  and  fraud  ;  and  the  example 
of  another,  who  has  carefully  abstained  from  these,  and, 
in  the  discharge  of  acknowledged  duty,  has  borne  great 
suffering.  Will  he  not  decide  that  the  latter  hss  made  a 
wise  choice?  The  admiration  of  our  souls  for  what  is 
disinterested  and  heroic  in  human  condud,  is  proof  of  the 


566 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


excellence  of  virtue  and  the  unnaturalness  of  sin.  In  our 
personal  experience,  those  things  which  sting  with  the 
keenest  pang  are  the  occurrences  in  which,  so  to  speak,  we 
gained  the  world,  but  lost  our  soul ;  in  which  temptation 
triumphed  over  our  moral  principles,  or  in  which  selfish- 
ness or  passion  degraded  us  below  our  proper  level. 

There  is  no  sting  so  sharp  as  remorse;  no  loss  like  the 
loss  of  innocence;  no  crimson  so  deep  as  that  of  shame, 
in  view  of  remembered  follies  and  vices.  This  is  the 
voice,  not  of  a  single  man,  nor  of  a  single  age,  but  it  is 
the  universal  sentiment  of  humanity.  The  Furies,  brand- 
ishing in  one  hand  the  torch  of  vengeance,  and  in  the 
other  a  scourge  of  writhing,  wriggling  vipers,  and  bearing 
aloft  a  Gorgon's  head,  that  could  turn  every  beholder  into 
stone,  are  terrific  representations  of  the  heinous  nature  of 
moral  evil,  as  revealed  in  the  universal  consciousness  of 
men.  But  the  culmination  of  this  evil  will  not  be  real- 
ized in  the  present  life;  but,  like  the  envenomed  robe  of 
Nessus,  will  cling  with  burning  and  consuming  potency 
to  the  blackened  and  charred  soul  forever. 

There  is  a  kind  of  parchment,  on  which  the  characters, 
faded  by  time,  are  so  perfedlly  restored  by  chemical  re- 
agents as  to  reveal,  after  the  lapse  of  centuries,  the  secrets 
and  forgotten  lore  committed  to  it.  Such  a  parchment  is 
the  human  soul,  on  which  will  be  restored,  in  lines  of 
ineffaceable  light,  the  desires  and  the  deeds  of  the  unre- 
membered  past.  The  continuity  of  our  being  will  not 
be  interrupted  by  death.  "Dust  to  dust"  was  not  spoken 
of  the  soul.  As  our  lives  to-day  are  the  resultant  of  past 
affedions,  aspirations,  and  pursuits,  so  our  charadler  be- 
yond the  stream  of  death  will  be  the  produft  of  the  influ- 
ences that  control  us  from  day  to  day.  Though  we  may 
be  blind  now  to  the  turpitude  of  moral  evil,  through  the 


A.  R.  BENTON, 


fascinations  of  pleasure,  or  the  anxious  cares  of  aftive  life, 
in  that  day,  if  given  up  to  a  sinful  life,  we  shall  feel  with 
Milton's  Satan,  that  "whichever  way  I  turn  is  hell — my- 
self am  hell." 

II.  In  the  next  place,  we  consider  the  certainty  of  God's 
retributive  justice.  The  nature  of  moral  evil  lays  the 
foundation  for  such  justice.  God's  nature  is  the  founda- 
tion of  its  certainty.  This  certainty  is  alarmed  with  the 
positiveness  of  dogmatism  in  our  text.  "Whatsoever  a 
man  sows,  that  shall  he  also  reap."  It  is  not  hypothetical 
or  uncertain.  He  shall  reap  :  not  as  a  mere  predidion,  but. 
as  of  positive  appointment.  To  many,  no  doubt,  this  in- 
flexible certainty  of  sequence  seems  a  hard  and  stern  decree. 
Like  the  man  who  had  received  but  one  talent,  they  com- 
plain of  God  as  an  austere  Master,  who  reaps  where  he  has 
not  sown.  It  is  obvious  that  our  complaining  does  not 
and  can  not  alter  God's  plans;  but  it  will  be  our  highest 
wisdom  to  learn  his  plans,  and  to  conform  to  them. 

Even  if  one  should  be  unable  to  explain  them,  or  con- 
strue them  satisfaftorily  to  his  mind,  this  will  absolve 
him  in  no  measure  from  the  penalty  incurred  by  violating 
known  law.  Approve  or  disapprove  as  we  may,  of  the 
sanctions  which  God  has  annexed  to  his  laws,  this  will,  in 
no  resped,  bias  or  change  the  Divine  course.  Go  and  work, 
and  whatever  is  right  I  will  give  you,  is  the- universal  law 
underlying  all  his  economies.  From  this  his  immutabil- 
ity can  not  allow  him  to  swerve. 

In  illustrating  and  enforcing  the  truth  of  the  certain 
connexion  between  our  acfls  and  their  pre-ordained  conse- 
quences, we  shall  appeal  to  matters  that  intirfiately  concern 
the  young,  as  youth  is,  in  the  order  of  nature,  the  period 
in  which  the  seed  is  sown  which  will  ripen  with  pestiferous 
fruit, "or  into  a  glorious  harvest. 


568 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


I.  In  the  first  place,  we  invite  attention  to  one  of  the 
lowest  and  least  reprehensible  forms  of  transgression — the 
mistakes  of  the  young. 

If  there  were  any  cases  in  which  we  might  reasonably 
expeft  that  the  rigor  of  law  Would  be  relaxed,  surely  we 
might  exped  some  mitigation  of  penalty  in  the  case  of 
simple  mistakes.  But  do  we  find  such  to  be  the  case? 
Does  even  involuntary  error  lead  to  no  pernicious  result? 
Does  ignorance  snap  the  ligament  that  binds  effed  to  cause  ? 
The  answer  is  found  in  our  own  experience. 

How  often  do  we  find  men  in  situations  that  they  have 
a  special  unfitness  for.  In  such  conditions  they  labor  on 
for  years,  without  suspeding  for  a  moment  their  inapti- 
tude for  their  calling.  They  blame  their  mischances,  the 
infelicity  of  their  conditions,  while  they  are  simply  the 
vidtims  of  their  mistakes.  They,  perchance,  mistake  their 
turbulent  pride,  and  enormous  self-consciousness,  for  the 
measure  of  their  pradlical  force;  and  hence  are  arrogant 
in  all  their  demands  on  society.  Inordinately  desiring  a 
life  of  ease  and  elegance,  and  believing  themselves,  by 
birth  or  culture,  fitted  to  shine  in  the  highest  positions, 
with  singular  pertinacity  they  claim  for  themselves  the 
special  consideration  of  the  world.  This  great  mistake 
with  regard  to  what  the  world  owes  or  will  accord,  paves 
the  way  to  their  ultimate  ruin.  The  common  callings  of 
life,  in  which  downright,  earnest  work  is  demanded,  are 
shunned,  and  without  aptitude  or  ability  for  those  posi- 
tions which  they  seek,  they  fall  peevishly  into  a  driveling 
mediocrity. 

There  is  a  law  of  adaptation  in  the  aflfairs  of  life  which 
we  may  not  violate  with  impunity.  While  something  in 
our  failures  may  be  charged  to  circumstances,  and  to  the 
infelicities  of  our  lot,  still  this  great  organic  law,  Adap- 


A.  R.  BENTON. 


569 


tation,  is  the  main  operative  principle  that  controls  our 
fortune;  and  no  plea  of  mistake  will  undo  the  mischief 
which  inevitably  follows  the  infraction  of  this  law. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  indolence  and  disregard  of  the  op  - 
portunities of  life  are  visited  with  certain  punishment. 
For  a  time  these  things  may  sit  easily,  and  life  may  glide 
along  jauntily ;  but  in  the  end  their  results  will  sting  like 
adders,  realizing  to  the  transgressor  that  whatsoever  he 
sows,  that,  and  nothing  else,  shall  he  reap.  There  are  a 
great  many  in  this  world,  of  whom  more  might  have  been 
made;  but  all  their  vain  regrets  over  what  might  have 
been  will  be  unavailing  to  bring  back  the  neglected  past, 
or  squandered  opportunities.  If  a  young  person  makes  a 
mistake  here,  no  degree  of  industry  in  after  life  will  fully 
retrieve  the  losses  of  the  past;  and  painful  losses  they  will 
remain  forever. 

Am  I  asked  what  are  the  special  inflidlions  visited  upon 
this  easy  and  sedudtive  vice?  They  are  poverty,  beggary, 
loss  of  self-respe6l  and  public  esteem.  Should  I  place  be- 
fore you  two  classes  of  circumstances,  one  of  ease,  afflu- 
ence, and  indolence,  the  other  of  hardship  and  the  reward 
of  persistent  toil,  most,  I  presume,  would  choose  the 
former. 

One  comes  into  life  the  expedant  heir  of  countless  ad- 
vantages. He  has  no  want  unsupplied  or  unanticipated. 
He  walks  the  easy  path  of  indolence — the  petted,  the 
indulged,  and,  generally,  the  spoiled  child  of  mistaken 
parental  love.  This  bleached,  etiolated  scion  of  doting 
parents,  harboring  all  the  selfishnesses  and  meannesses  of 
an  unoccupied  life,  is  fitted,  by  the  lessons  of  indolence, 
for  all  covert  or  public  transgression  of  law. 

The  other  is  born,  perhaps,  under  the  dispensation  of 
rags.    From  early  life  he  falls  into  the  eddies  of  society, 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


and  is  thrown  from  one  side  to  another — sunk  at  one  time, 
then  coming  to  the  surface;  and,  with  fearlessness  and  for- 
titude, at  last  begins  to  get  hold  on  li  e,  and,  in  the  words 
of  Emerson,  he  "  teams  it,  farms  it,  peddles,  keeps  school, 
edits  a  newspaper,  goes  to  Congress,  buys  a  township,"  and 
so  forth.  This  discipline  develops  something  better  than 
wealth  or  position.  It  develops  manhood,  and,  by  its  at- 
tritions, polishes  the  jewels  of  charafter  until  they  shine 
with  splendid  luster. 

Given  these  circumstances  and  careers  from  which  to 
choose,  would  not  many  young  persons  choose  the  life  of 
indolence  and  magnificent  worthlessness  ?  We  need  not 
now  stop  to  trace  indolence  through  all  its  labyrinths  of 
dishonesty — to  which  it  most  surely  leads — its  swindlings, 
its  forgeries,  thievings,  and  the  sensual  indulgences  which 
fill  up  the  interstices  between  these  crimes. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  there  is  certain  retribution  con- 
sequent upon  the  dissipation  of  life.  One  of  the  most 
alarming  exhibitions  of  unbridled  desires,  is  that  pursuit 
of  pleasure  called,  with  great  significance,  dissipation.  This 
is  a  species  of  self-gratification  that  assumes  Protean  forms 
— the  idol  of  modern  society,  and  the  constant  pursuit  of 
restless  and  unoccupied  minds.  Such  persons,  in  constant 
pursuit  of  some  new  titillations  of  pleasure,  seek  to  drown 
their  time,  thoughts,  and  restiveness  in  the  whirl  of  end- 
less dissipation.  They  stand  along  the  high  road  of  life 
as  sad  examples  of  self-anarchy  and  internal  misrule. 

These  "wild  oats"  of  dissipation  may  be  sown — thou- 
sands do  sow  them — but  the  reaping  will  be  according  to 
the  sowing.  Not  more  certainly  will  the  husbandman  reap 
tares  when  tares  are  sown,  than  will  he  reap  shame  and  dis- 
appointment who  makes  pleasure  his  pursuit  in  life.  All 
the  steps  taken  on  this  road  must  be  retraced  with  pain- 


A.  R.  BENTON. 


fulness  and  cross-bearing,  if  ever  safety  or  happiness  in 
this  life  be  found. 

Were  I  to  specify  with  particularity  those  forms  of  dis- 
sipation most  hurtful  to  the  moral  welfare  of  the  young, 
1  should  mention  the  saloon,  the  theater,  the  gambling 
hell,  and  the  haunts  of  sensuality  to  which  modesty  denies 
a  name.  Of  some  of  these,  it  may  be  said,  that  their  gross- 
ness  is  so  great,  that  none  but  the  most  hardened  in  de- 
pravity are  reckoned  among  their  votaries;  while  the  the- 
ater may  be  a  source  of  rational  and  innocent  satisfaftion. 
It  is  often  asked,  with  an  air  of  conscious  triumph,  what 
specific  law  of  morals  is  violated  by  attending  the  theater? 
It  may  be  true  that  it  has  been  refined  from  the  excesses 
of  intemperance,  from  the  execrations  of  profanity,  and 
the  jeers  of  infidelity,  and  yet  be  praftically  pernicious 
to  moral  culture.  Then  comes  the  graveling  question: 
What  mysterious  harm  in  frequenting  such  a  place  as  this  ? 
It  is  a  fallacy  to  suppose  that  no  substantial  objedions 
may  exist  against  a  pradice  which  infradls  no  specific  com- 
mand. 

A  man  might  be  unwell,  and  the  physician  be  unable  to 
give  a  specific  name  to  his  complaint.  So  with  the  scenic 
representations  of  the  stage.  The  ailing  is  general ;  and 
even  if  unable  to  impeach  them  for  specific  guilt,  they  are 
to  be  condemned  for  their  complicities  and  general  results. 
In  the  words  of  an  apostle,  "An  idol  may  he.  nothing,  and 
the  meats  offered  to  it  may  be  nothing,"  and  still  it  may 
be  unlawful  in  morals  to  visit  its  temple,  or  to  sit  at  its 
table. 

It  is,  no  doubt,  well  that  the  Christian  religion  gives 
no  dogmatic  utterances  on  points  like  this;  but  that  it 
aims  to  supersede  the  luxury,  the  license,  and  the  giggling 
folly  of  such  entertainments  by  new  tastes,  new  affedions. 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


and  a  nobler  manhood.  The  new  wine  of  tastes  and  prin- 
ciples must  be  put  into  new  bottles,  if  both  are  to  be  pre- 
served. 

''Rejoice,  then,  young  man,  in  the  days  of  thy  youth! 
But  know,  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  you  into 
judgment." 

4.  There  is  also  certain  retribution  for  the  dishonesties  of 
life.  There  is,  in  our  time,  not  only  a  tolerance,  but  there 
are  even  encomiums  upon  some  of  the  dishonesties  of  men. 
The  moral  significance  of  deeds  is  changed,  and  what  was 
formerly,  and  in  truth,  esteemed  a  vice,  is  now  canonized 
as  a  virtue.  This  is  the  involuntary  homage  that  men  are 
compelled  to  pay  to  virtue.  If  rascality  is  called  tad  or 
business  sagacity,  it  is  because  men  wish  to  give  a  cred- 
itable account  of  themselves;  if  mendacity,  in  all  its  forms, 
is  called  a  prudent  defense  against  the  impc-tinence  or 
overreaching  of  others,  it  is  because  they  wish  to  gloss 
over  the  repulsiveness  of  lying.  The  danger  of  dishon- 
esty comes  not  in  some  hideous,  colossal  form,  but  often 
attenuated  and  gay,  rallying  the  fears  or  piquing  the  pride, 
until,  admitted  to  the  hospitality  of  human  hearts,  it  sud- 
denly swells  into  gigantic  proportions,  and  with  its  Gorgon 
head  of  horror,  affrights  every  impotent  struggle  to  exor- 
cise the  demon.  Then  honor,  integrity,  and  purity  perish; 
and,  with  these,  all  is  gone  but  the  stinging  disappoint- 
ment, the  useless  remorse.  Instead  of  the  anticipated 
harvest  of  resped,  and  honor,  and  life  eternal,  there  is 
the  fruit  of  tyrannous  and  insatiable  desires,  which  will 
constitute  forever  a  man  his  own  tormentor. 

Among  our  own  countrymen,  I  know  no  more  melan- 
choly example  of  warning  to  aspiring  young  men,  that  they 
beware  of  the  dishonesties  of  life,  than  that  of  Aaron  Burr. 
Sprung  from  a  noble  ancestry,  and  bearing  an  honored 


A.  R.  BENTON, 


S73 


name ;  endowed  with  a  mental  tad  and  brilliancy  that  eclipsed 
all  competitors;  of  speech  as  fluent  and  fascinating  as  that 
which  angels  use;  of  ambition  towering  as  Lucifer's;  of  an 
iron  will  that  bent  all,  even  bodily  infirmity,  to  its  own  im- 
periousness,  he  was  fitted,  by  nature  and  liberal  education, 
to  become  a  blessing  to  his  race.  But,  losing  his  hold  of 
moral  and  religious  principles,  which  had  shed  their  hal- 
lowed and  sweetening  influences  on  his  early  life,  he  fell 
from  bad  to  worse,  until,  in  his  infinite  progression  toward 
evil,  he  conspired  to  dismember  his  country,  was  exposed 
in  his  wicked  career,  and  is  now  gibbeted  by  the  execra- 
tions of  his  countrymen. 

Thus  it  ever  will  be,  that  it  may  be  known  how  God 
watches  the  flow  of  our  daily  life,  its  honesties  and  dis- 
honesties, asserting  his  approbation  of  the  one,  and  his 
condemnation  of  the  other, 

5.  In  the  last  place,  consider  the  application  which  the 
apostle  himself  makes  of  this  dodlrine  of  retribution, 
"He  that  sows  to  the  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  cor- 
ruption; he  that  sows  to  the  spirit,  shall  of  the  spirit 
reap  life  everlasting," 

No  labor  is  expended  to  prove  that  it  is  wrong  to  sow 
to  the  flesh,  or  that  it  is  right  to  sow  to  the  spirit.  He 
affirms  a  universal  truth,  with  its  certainty  and  momentous 
import,  and  leaves  it  for  us  to  apply.  That  it  is  always 
criminal  to  sow  to  the  flesh  is  clear;  but  in  this  connec- 
tion the  apostle  endeavors  to  enforce  the  evanescent  and 
perishable  nature  of  its  objeds. 

The  whole  round  of  pursuits,  tastes,  and  affedions  of 
mankind  are  generalized  by  the  two  words,  flesh  and  spirit. 
The  former  are  temporal  and  evanescent;  the  latter  are 
commensurate  with  the  life  of  God — they  are  eternal. 

What,  then,  is  the  boundary-line  that  separates  the  spirit 


574 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


from  the  flesh?  Is  it  that  by  which  the  dissipations  or 
dishonesties  of  life  are  separated  from  its  decencies  and 
uprightness?  Is  it  that  by  which  the  man  labeled  all 
over  with  uncanceled  wickedness  is  separated  from  the 
genteel  and  affable? 

There  is  no  need  for  one  to  possess  Satanic  eminence 
in  moral  turpitude  in  order  to  define  his  spiritual  status. 
The  jurisprudence  of  heaven  requires  no  such  glaring  con- 
trasts to  fix  the  charadler  or  destiny  of  men.  It  is  possi- 
ble to  belong  to  the  category  of  the  flesh  without  any  of 
the  forms  of  gross  delinquency.  We  might  conceive  of  a 
man  possessing  a  lively  relish  for  the  amenities  of  social  life ; 
of  public  spirit  and  activity;  of  keen  relish  for  the  sensu- 
ous beauties  which  have  been  spread  with  lavish  prodigal- 
ity on  the  face  of  nature,  and  yet,  with  all  these,  he  may 
be  on  the  side  of  the  flesh.  In  his  tendencies,  habits,  and 
practical  concerns,  he  may  be  altogether  carnal.  God  may 
not  be  in  any  of  his  thoughts.  Like  Mammon,  "wHose 
looks  were  always  downward  bent,"  the  earth  may  cHim 
all  his  affedions,  and  be  the  theater  of  all  his  aspirat^<ins 
and  all  his  hopes.  Far  better  would  it  be  to  be  destit^ite 
of  worldly  schemes  and  ambitions  than  to  be  destitute  of 
religious  affedions  and  a  sensibility  for  spiritual  things. 
The  flesh  and  corruption;  the  spirit  and  life  eternal.  1  he 
choice  is  ours.  The  ample  apartments  of  the  soul  may  he- 
come  dismal  and  dreary  from  sheer  emptiness  of  this  spir- 
itual furnishing,  or  they  may  become  bright  and  refulgent 
by  the  garnishing  of  spiritual  inclinations  and  holy  affe*;- 
tions.  May  no  treacherous  delusions  or  errant  philosophy 
beguile  us  from  the  simplicity  of  this  truth,  that  "What- 
ever a  man  sows,  that  shall  he  reap;"  and  may  God  gr^i- 
ciously  grant,  that  we  may  sow  to  the  Spirit,  and  bring  us 
at  last  to  partake  the  felicities  of  everlasting  life. 


JOSEPH  KING. 


JOSEPH  KING  was  born  in  Kinsman,  Trumbull  County,  Ohio,  July  9, 
1831.  At  seven  years  of  age  he  was  left  an  orphan,  and  was  thrown 
on  the  world  entirely  upon  his  own  resources.  This  faft  subjedled  him 
to  many  privations  and  severe  trials;  but  his  energies  were  correspondingly 
quickened,  and  the  self-reliance  and  patience  which  have  since  charader- 
ized  the  man  were  developed  and  strengthened  thus  early  by  the  struggles 
of  the  boy.  The  money  he  expended  in  acquiring  an  education  was  earned 
by  his  own  eiForts:  first,  by  manual  labor  on  a  farm,  and,  afterward,  by 
teaching.    No  one  helped  him  to  a  dollar. 

He  began  the  study  of  English  grammar,  and,  indeed,  all  the  common 
branches  of  an  education,  after  he  entered  his  eighteenth  year,  and  grad- 
uated, with  distinguished  honor,  at  Bethany  College,  in  1855. 

His  early  religious  training  was  thoroughly  Presbyterian,  and  he  had  no 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  Disciples,  or  of  their  views,  till  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age.  When  in  his  twenty-first  year,  after  going  through  a  long 
and  terrible  ordeal  in  seeking  the  way  of  salvation,  he  was  brought  to  see 
and  understand  the  truth,  and  was  immersed,  in  Mahoning  County,  Ohio, 
in  1852. 

After  graduating  at  college,  his  first  year  in  the  ministry  was  spent  at 
Warren,  Ohio ;  the  next  three  years  were  spent  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  in  connexion  with  the  Williamsville  Classical  Institute.  He  was 
afterward  pastor  of  the  Church  in  New  Lisbon,  Ohio,  four  years;  he  then 
removed  to  Alleghany  City,  Penifsylvania,  and  took  charge  of  the  Church 
in  that  place,  where  he  has  been  for  nearly  five  years,  and  which  is  his 
present  field  of  labor. 

Brother  King  is  of  medium  stature,  and  very  slight,  but  has  shown  him- 
self capable  of  a  large  amount  of  hard  work.  He  has  brown  hair,  gray 
eyes,  and  weighs  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  His  physiognomy 
marks  him  as  a  man  of  equable  temper,  large  benevolence,  but  very  de 
cided  and  firm  in  reference  to  all  his  plans  of  life. 

His  preaching  is  chiefly  pradlical,  and  his  discourses  are  generally  char 

(575) 


576 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


afterized  by  much  that  appeak  direftly  to  the  conscience.  He  has  very 
little  imagination,  and  is  not,  in  the  popular  sense,  an  orator,  but  his  suc- 
cess in  the  ministry  demonstrates  that  he  wields  an  influence  more  potent 
than  that  which  belongs  to  the  most  gifted  speakers.  Every-where  he 
has  labored,  the  Divine  blessing  has  attended  his  preaching,  and  he  is  now 
doing  a  work  in  Alleghany  City  which  is  worthy  to  be  recorded  as  among 
the  most  splendid  successes  that  have  crowned  the  pastoral  labors  of  the 
ministry. 


THE  JUDGMENT  TO  COME. 


BY  JOSEPH  KING. 


"  And  he  commanded  us  to  ]ireach  to  the  people,  and  to  testify  that  it 
is  he  who  has  been  ordained  of  God  to  1)6  Judge  of  tlie  living  and  dead." — 
Acts  x  :  42. 


HESE  words  were  spoken  by  the  Apostle  Peter, 


X  in  the  house  of  Cornelius,  at  the  opening  of  the 
Gospel  dispensation  to  the  Gentiles.  Peter  was  preach- 
ing, declaring  the  testimony  of  God,  and,  after  affirming 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  saying:  "  Him  God  raised  up 
on  the  third  day,  and  showed  him  openly,  not  to  all  the 
people,  but  to  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to 
us  who  ate  and  drank  with  him  after  he  rose  froni  the 
dead;"  he  also  affirms,  saying:  "He  commanded  us  to 
preach  to  the  people,  and  to  testify  that  it  is  he  who 
has  been  ordained  of  God  to  be  judge  of  the  living 
and  dead." 

The  apostles  profoundly  respected  the  authority  of 
Christ.  They  obeyed  his  commands.  They  faithfully 
executed  his  will.  They  were  his  embassadors,  his 
plenipotentiaries,  clothed  with  full  power  to  treat  with 
offending  man,  and  make  known  the  terms  of  reconcilia- 
tion with  an  offended  God.  The  text  informs  us  that 
the  apostles  were  commanded  to  do  two  things:  First, 


37 


(577) 


5/8 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


to  preach  to  the  people.  In  preaching,  they  were  sub- 
ject to  the  will  of  Christ.  They  preached,  not  to  gratify 
their  own  ambition,  or  because  the  work  of  preaching 
was  light  and  irresponsible,  but  because  the  obligation 
to  preach  was  upon  them.  All  authority  in  heaven  and 
on  earth  had  been  given  to  Jesus.  By  that  authority 
he  commanded  them,  saying:  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  There  is  the 
obligation  imposed — the  duty  solemnly  enjoined.  How 
deeply  did  Paul  feel  in  reference  to  the  work  given  him 
to  do  !•  And,  no  doubt,  all  the  apostles  felt  as  did  he. 
"Though  I  preach  the  Gospel,  I  have  nothing  to  boast 
of:  for  necessity  is  laid  upon  me  ;  yea,  woe  is  to  me  if 
I  preach  not  the  Gospel."    (i  Cor.  ix :  i6.) 

Secondly,  they  were  commanded  to  "  testify  that 
Jesus  had  been  ordained  of  God  to  be  the  Judge  of  the 
living  and  dead."  The  word  "  testify  "  scarcely  does 
justice  to  the  original.  The  word  means,  in  the  Greek 
tongue,  to  make  solemn,  public  affirmation  ;  to  declare 
earnestly;  to  urge  and  eniorce,  under  a  deep  sense  of 
the  truth  and  importance  of  what  you  say.  Hence,  the 
Judgeship  of  Christ  was  a  capital  item  in  the  apostolic 
testimony.  The  apostles  were  commanded  to  proclaim 
to  "all  men  every-where  "  that  Christ  is  to  return  to 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness.  Jesus  is  not  only 
"  Lord  of  all  ;"  he  is  Judge  of  all,  and  to  him  every  knee 
must  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess.  He  is  King,  Lord, 
and  Judge.  His  Lordship  and  Judgeship  grow  out  of 
his  offices  as  King.  As  "  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords,"  he  proclaims  the  law  of  pardon,  governs  the 
Church,  rules  over  his  people,  and  is  also  the  Lord  of 
providence.  All  things  are  in  his  hands.  As  King  he 
is  to  judge  the  world. 


JOSEPH  KING. 


579 


I  ask  your  attention,  therefore,  to  this  subject,  grow- 
ing immediately  out  of  Christ's  coronation  and  investi- 
ture with  supreme  authority,  viz.,  his  advent  to  Jiidg- 
nient — his  coming  to  reckon  with  every  man,  and  "  pro- 
nounce the  sentence  of  eternal  woe  or  bliss." 

Your  attention  is  invited  to  the  following  points  : 

I.  The  certainty  of  a  Future  Judgment. 
II.  The  Judge. 

III.  The  persons  Judged. 

IV.  That  for  which  we  are  to  be  Judged. 

I.  Beloved  hearers,  listen  while  I  speak  to  you.  Let 
me  ask :  Do  you  believe  in  a  future  and  eternal  judg- 
ment? Do  you  believe  that  you  are  to  stand  before 
God,  to  give  "account  to  him  who  is  ready  to  judge 
the  living  and  the  dead?"  Do  you  really  accept  it  as 
a  truth  of  Divine  revelation,  that  Christ  will  come  to 
reckon  with  you  ;  to  make  solemn  inquir)'  as  to  the  im- 
provement you  have  made  of  the  talents  given  you  ;  as 
to  what  you  have  thought,  and  said,  and  done  during 
this  life;  and  that  the  "hidden  things  of  darkness  will 
be  brought  to  light,  and  the  counsels  of  every  heart 
made  manifest?" 

Do  you  believe  this  to  be  a  part  of  God's  great  reve- 
lation ?  O,  I  say  to  you,  men  need  to  believe  it;  but 
multitudes  do  not  ;  and,  because  they  do  not,  they  are 
going  down  to  a  fearful  end.  Let  us  inquire,  then,  will 
there  be  a  future  judgment?  To  this  question  there 
can  be  but  one  answer.  There  certainly  zoill  be.  An 
approaching  judgment  is  certain.  And  I  proceed  to 
establish  the  certainty  of  it. 


58o 


THE  IJVING  PULPIT. 


I.  In  the  first  place,  let  us  examine  the  "book  of  con- 
science." Man's  mental  and  moral  constitution  furnishes 
evidence  of  the  judgment  of  God.  The  sentence — God 
will  judge  man — is  written  on  every  man's  heart.  Let 
us  search  the  records  within.  Every  one  has  evi- 
dence— evidence  quite  satisfactory,  too,  if  he  but  take 
the  pains  to  examine  it — in  his  own  soul,  in  the  consti- 
tution of  his  moral  nature — that  God  will  sit  in  judg- 
ment upon  him.  To  illustrate  :  Suppose  you  do  right ; 
suppose  you  pursue  a  right  course  of  conduct,  such  a 
course  as  is  in  harmony  with  the  word  of  God  and  the 
principles  of  eternal  rectitude,  there  is  that  within  which 
approves  your  conduct — in  other  words,  you  have  the 
testimony  of  a  good  conscience.  On  the  other  hand, 
suppose  you  do  wrong;  you  sin;  act  contrary  to  that 
which  you  know  to  be  right ;  do  those  things  which  you 
ought  not  to  do,  or  leave  undone  those  things  which  you 
ought  to  do,  there  is  that  within  which  disapproves 
your  conduct ;  there  is  inward  pain,  mental  uneasiness, 
and  a  consciousness  of  unhappiness  arising  from  wrong- 
doing. You  have  done  wrong,  and  you  know  it,  and 
feci  it.  Now,  what  is  that  which  approves  the  one 
course  of  life,  and  disapproves  the  other  ?  It  is  con- 
science, or  the  moral  sense.  It  is  what  the  Apostle 
Paul  calls  the  "law  written  in  the  heart;"  /.  e.,  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Gentiles,  those  who  had  not  a  written  reve- 
lation of  God's  will.  And,  as  the  guide-board  points 
out  to  the  traveler  the  way  he  must  go  to  reach  the  de- 
sired place,  so  conscience,  rightly  interpreted,  points, 
with  unerring  certainty,  to  the  "  righteous  judgment  of 
God."  It  is  God's  law  in  the  soul,  "written  in  the 
heart,"  testifying  in  favor  of  truth,  and  justice,  and 
righteousness,  and  against  sin,  and  wrong,  and  disobe- 


JOSEPH  KING. 


58r 


dience.  (Rom.  ii':  12--16.)  And  in  the  first  and  second 
chapters  of  the  letter  to  the  Church  at  Rome,  the  apos- 
tle clearly  shows  that  conscience  and  the  works  of  crea- 
tion— "  the  things  that  are  made  " — furnish  such  a  plain 
revelation  of  at  least  some  of  the  attributes  of  the 
Supreme  Being,  that  the  others  are  left  "  without  ex- 
cuse." And  of  them  he  writes:  "Who,"  (without  the 
Bible,)  "  knowing  the  judgment  of  God,  that  they  who 
commit  such  things  are  worthy  of  death  ;  not  only  do 
the  same,  but  have  pleasure  in  them  that  do  them." 
(Rom.  i:  32.) 

2.  The  justice  of  God  requires  that  there  be  a  day  of 
judgment.  Justice  is  not  here  meted  out  to  every  one. 
Injustice  abounds  in  this  world,  and  God,  for  wise  reasons, 
permits  it.  In  every  civilized  country  there  are  what  are 
called  "  courts  of  justice."  All  men  will  not,  of  their 
own  accord,  act  justly.  Hence,  courts  are  organized 
for  the  one  purpose  of  seeing  that  justice  shall  be  done 
between  man  and  man.  And  yet,  it  can  not  be  truth- 
fully said  that,  in  a  single  court,  from  that  held  by  a 
country  squire,  or  a  village  mayor,  up  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  justice  is  always  and  abso- 
lutely done.  A  man  may  have  injustice  done  him  in, 
and  by  what  is  called  a  court  of  justice.  Indeed,  the 
fact  is  notorious  that  fraud  and  injustice  are  often  per- 
petrated by  those  who  are  themselves  set  to  administer 
justice.  All  over  this  world  the  innocent  are  oppressed, 
the  just  are  treated  unjustly. 

The  wicked  are  generally  in  great  power ;  the  right- 
eous poor  are  trampled  upon  and  kept  down.  And, 
during  the  ages  that  have  passed  away,  how  many  of 
God's  chosen  and  just  ones  have  been  persecuted,  mal- 
treated, injured  in  their  person  and  property,  oppressed, 


582 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


bound  to  the  stake,  and  their  Hfe  violently  taken?  and 
yet  God,  the  infinitely  just  One,  suffered  their  persecu- 
tors to  live,  and  did  not  come  forth  openly  to  vindicate 
the  cause  of  his  suffering  and  oppressed  people.  How 
often  is  it  the  case  that  great  criminals  go  unpunished 
in  this  world  ?  Every-where  the  laws  of  God  and  the 
principles  of  justice  are  disregarded — iniquity,  trans- 
gression, and  crime  run  riot. 

Is  there  a  just  God  in  heaven?  Will  the  "Judge  of 
all  the  earth  do  right  ?"  If  so,  things  being  as  they  are 
in  this  world — injustice  abounding,  and  justice  mocked 
and  trampled  under  foot  in  ten  thousand  instances  ;  if 
God  be  just,  (and  who  can  doubt  it?)  if  justice  and  judg- 
ment are  the  habitation  of  his  throne,  then  there  will 
come  a  clay — there  must  come  a  day — when  God  will 
come  forth  as  Sovereign,  and  openly,  publicly,  visibly, 
in  the  presence  of  all  his  accountable  creatures,  punish 
sin,  reward  righteousness  ;  search  out  sins  secret  and 
concealed  from  the  knowledge  of  men  ;  make  solemn 
investigation  into  the  character  of  every  one  ;  examine 
his  life  ;  scan  his  purposes  ;  scrutinize  his  heart ;  explore 
the  deep  recesses  of  his  being ;  penetrate  behind  the 
vail  of  that  which  is  outward ;  and,  having  weighed,  ex- 
amined, sifted,  searched,  scrutinized,  exposed,  will  do 
what  infinite  justice  determines  and  says  ought  to  be 
done.  Such  a  judgment,  fearful,  searching,  far-reaching, 
awaits  every  man.  None  will  escape.  It  will  come. 
It  is  certain  as  that  you  live  and  hear  me  speak.  God's 
justice  requires  it.  It  will  not  suffer  the  guilty  to  es- 
cape. Before  Felix,  Paul  "  reasoned  concerning  right- 
eousness, temperance,  (self-control),  and  the  judgment 
to  come."    (Acts  xxiv,  xxv.) 


JOSEPH  KING. 


If  Jefferson  could  say  "  I  tremble  for  my  country  when 
I  remember  that  God  is  just,"  every  one  may  well  trem- 
ble for  himself  when  he  remembers  that  God  will  sit  in 
judsrment  upon  him. 

3.  Turning-  now  from  conscience  and  Divine  justice, 
we  ask,  What  says  the  Word  of  God?  What  does 
God  say  in  his  Word  concerning  a  future  judgment? 
Not  turning  just  now  to  the  Old  Testament  for  a  single 
passage — for  space  will  permit  me  to  quote  but  a  few — 
I  cite  the  words  of  our  Divine  Lord  in  Matt,  x:  15: 
"  Verily,  I  say  to  you,  it  will  be  more  tolerable  for  the 
land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  in  the  day  of  jtidgmcnt, 
than  for  that  city."  Our  Savior  often  speaks  of  the 
day  of  judgment.  I  need  not  multiply  quotations. 
(See  Matt,  xi  :  22-2\  \  xii :  36-42.)  Would  Jesus  un- 
equivocally speak  of  that  which  is  never  to  be  ?  Nay  ; 
there  is,  therefore,  to  be  a  day  of  judgment ;  and  sins 
committed  thousands  of  years  since,  if  not  forgiven,  will 
be  had  in  remembrance  in  that  day.  It  will  be  a  day 
of  wondrous  revelations. 

The  Apostle  Paul,  in  his  discourse  to  the  Athenian 
philosophers,  as  you  will  see  recorded  in  Acts  xvii :  30, 
31  :  says,  "  God  now  commands  all  men  every-where  to 
repent :  because  he  appointed  a  day  in  which  he  will 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  the  man  (Christ 
Jesus)  whom  he  ordained" — appointed  to  be  ludge  of 
all  men.  And  the  proof  of  Christ's  having  all  judgment 
committed  to  him  is  his  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
God,  therefore,  has  appointed  a  day ;  /.  e.,  he  has  fixed 
a  time — a  set  time — a  time  that  will  be  given  up  to  the 
solemn  work  of  judging  men,  and  determining  the  des- 
tiny of  each  one.  Nothing  else  will  then  absorb  the 
mind  of  either  the  Judge  or  the  judged.    Now,  Christ 


584 


THE  LIVING  PULITT. 


is  governing  the  universe,  administering  the  affairs  of 
his  vast  empire,  and  interceding  for  his  people  ;  but 
there  draws  near  a  time  when  he  will  come,  with  "his 
mighty  angels,  in  fiaming  fire,"  and,  laying  aside  other 
things,  will  devote  the  necessary  length  of  time  to  one 
thing — judging  "  the  world  in  righteousness."  When  he 
comes,  "  every  eye  shall  see  him,  even  they  who  pierced 
him  :  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because 
of  him."  (Rev.  i:  7.)  Gloom  and  dismay  will  over- 
spread the  world  ;  horror  and  anguish  will  seize  men. 
"And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and 
the  rich  men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty 
men,  and  every  bondman,  and  every  freeman,  will  hide 
themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mount- 
ains ;  and  will  say  to  the  mountains  and  rocks.  Fall  on 
us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  who  sits  on  the 
throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb :  for  the  great 
day  of  his  wrath  is  come,  and  who  shall  be  able  to 
stand?"    (Rev.  vi  ;  15-17.) 

This  day  is  approaching,  and  no  power  of  man  or 
angel  can  prevent  its  approach.  Men  may  laugh,  treat 
the  matter  with  ridicule,  and  "make  light  of  it;"  they 
may  say:  "Peace  and  safety;"  "  Where  is  the  promise 
of  his  coming?  "  and  "  Away  with  your  notions  about  a 
future  judgment  and  the  conflagration  of  the  world;" 
but  "  sudden  destruction  will  come  upon  them,  and  they 
shall  not  escape."  The  antediluvians  mocked  Noah,  a 
preacher  of  righteousness,  and  treated  his  solemn  warn- 
ings with  indifference  ;  yet  the  "  flood  came  and  swept 
them  all  away."  So  will  it  be  with  all  the  ungodly  in 
the  great  day  of  final  reckoning. 

O,  beloved,  write  it  upon  the  tablet  of  your  heart ;  re- 
ceive the  solemn  truth;  and,  from  this  hour,  practically 


JOSEPH  KING. 


5S5 


believe  that  you  are  to  appear  before  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth,  to  receive  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body. 

In  proof  of  a  future  judgment,  many  other  passages 
might  be  quoted  ;  but  it  is  not  necessary.  (Rev.  xx  :  12. 
13.)  "In  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall  every 
word  be  established."  John,  Paul,  and,  above  all,  our 
Savior  himself,  assert  the  fact  of  a  "  da)i.  of  judgment." 

II.  The  Judge. 

This  is  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Jesus  is  the  Judge  of  the 
living  and  the  dead.  "  The  Father  judges  no  one  ;  but  has 
committed  all  judgment  to  the  vSon  ;  that  all  should  honor 
the  Son,  as  they  honor  the  Father.  He  that  honors  not  the 
Son,  honors  not  the  Father  who  sent  him."  (John  v :  22, 
23.)  All  judicial  authority  has  been  given  to  Christ ;  and 
the  Father's  purpose,  in  giving  him  such  authority,  is  that 
his  Son  maybe  honored  equally  with  himself.  Christ  is  to 
receive  equal  adoration  with  God;  and,  wearing  our  nat- 
ure as  well  as  the  Divine,  he  is  thus  an  "impartial  Judge." 

III.  Who  are  to  be  Judged? 

We  pass  to  consider  the  subjects  of  the  Divine  judg- 
ment. 

1 .  Fallen  Angels.  There  has  been  sin  in  heaven  among 
the  angels  as  well  as  on  earth  ;  and  as  angels  are  account- 
able beings — subjects  of  moral  government — and  as  ''all 
judgment"  has  been  given  to  the  Son,  the  fallen  angels 
will  be  judged  by  the  Son  of  God.  (2  Pet.  ii:  4;  also 
Jude  6.) 

2.  All  men  will  be  judged.  Not  one  will  escape  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God.  '  "  All  who,  at  Christ's 
coming,  shall  be  living,  or  shall  ever  have  lived."  The 
judgment  will  be  universal,  embracing  not  only  on^ 


c86 


THE  LHTNG  PULPIT. 


tongue  or  kindred,  but  all  tongues  and  kindreds  of  men. 
The  beggar  and  the  millionaire ;  the  king  on  his  throne, 
and  the  humblest  of  his  subjects  ;  the  prince  and  the 
peasant ;  the  master  and  the  servant ;  the  old  and  the 
young;  the  judge  on  the  bench,  and  the  prisoner  at  the 
bar:  all  men,  standing  now  on  the  same  level,  robbed 
of  every  earthly  distinction  ;  their  former  position  and 
supposed  greatness  lost  sight  of,  and  with  nothing  but 
the  character  they  formed  during  life,  are  to  stand  before 
the  omniscient,  omnipotent  Judge  of  all.  "We  must  all 
appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ ;  that  every- 
one may  receive  the  things  done  in  the  body,  according 
to  what  he  has  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  evil."  (2  Cor. 
v:  10.)  "Every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself 
to  God."  (Rom.  xiv :  12.) 

Professors  of  religion  sometimes  say:  "Why,  we  are 
not  to  be  judged,  are  we?  Are  we  not  Christians  ?  Are 
we  not  members  of  Christ's  body  ?  Have  we  not  been 
forgiven  ?  Are  not  the  promises  ours  ?  Will  Christ  judge 
21s?''  I  answer:  Yes.  Yes,  re??/  will  be  judged.  There 
lives  not  a  man  who  will  escape  the  final  judgment.  Not 
one — not  one.  Does  not  the  apostle  say:  "  The  Lord 
will  judge  his  people?"  And,  in  reference  to  this  very 
judgment  to  be  passed  upon  the  Lord's  people,  Paul 
says  :  "  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
living  God."  Fearful,  because  the  Judge  is  omnipotent; 
fearful,  because  he  is  the  searcher  of  every  heart;  fear- 
ful, because  many  who  are  expecting  to  be  acquitted  will 
be  condemned;  fearful,  because  the  Judge  has  power 
"  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell."  Well  may  we 
tremble,  in  view  of  that  day  ;  and  thousands  will  tremble 
then  who  never  trembled  before.  Like  Belshazzar,  they 
will  turn  pale;  their  knees  will  smite  one  against  an- 


JOSEPH  KING. 


587 


Other,  and  horror  and  anguish  will  seize  them.  O,  may  we 
be  prepared  for  that  great  day — day  of  God  Almighty  ! 

The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  Whether  the  sins 
of  God's  people  will  be  published  in  the  day  of 
judgment.  This  is  one  of  those  "  secret  things  that 
belong  to  the  Lord  our  God."  It  is  certain  their  sins 
will  not  be  alleged  against  them  to  their  condemnation ; 
nevertheless,  "  the  Lord  will  judge  his  people." 

IV.  For  what  are  we  to  be  Judged? 

I.  For  our  works,  our  deeds,  conduct,  actions.  All 
the  deeds  of  your  life  will  be  subject-matter  of  inquiry 
and  judicial  investigation  in  the  day  of  final  retribution. 
Not  some  actions,  not  some  deeds — but  every  action, 
every  deed  of  every  man.  Nothing  will  be  left  out  of 
the  account.  The  Judge  will  take  cognizance  of  every 
act.  He  is  Omniscient.  His  knowledge  of  your  whole 
life,  and  of  every  thing  you  do,  during  life's  continuance, 
is  perfect.    No  act,  no  deed  will  escape  his  notice. 

I  have  observed  that  business  men,  in  making  out 
their  bills,  to  distribute  for  collection,  are  careful  to 
specify  every  item  purchased.  They  forget  nothing. 
Of  this,  so  much,  at  so  much  per  unit  of  measurement. 
Oi  that,  so  much,  at  so  much  per  unit  of  measurement; 
and  so  on.  to  the  end.  And  often  you  forget  that  you 
bought  so  much ;  and  when  the  bill  is  presented  to  you 
for  payment,  you  are  surprised  to  find  it  so  large,  and 
are  disposed  to  dispute  its  correctness  ;  but  the  books 
show  it.  Here  it  is — the  date  and  the  full  account  in 
order. 

Now,  God  keeps  a  strict  account  of  all  we  do.  He 
forgets  nothing.  All  is  written  in  the  book  of  his  re- 
membrance.   You  sin   but  you  soon  forget  that  you 


588 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


sinned.  You  drive  a  hard  bargain.  You  cheat  some 
ignorant  one  in  dealing  with  him ;  you  falsify  for  base 
gain  ;  you  give  way  to  passion,  and  become  sinfully  an- 
gry ;  or  you  yield  to  the  power  of  appetite,  and  drink 
that  which  intoxicates.  These  "  little  sins,"  as  you  call 
them,  are  soon  forgotten,  (you  do  not  retain  them  in 
mind  long  enough  to  repent  of  them  ;)  and  you  flatter 
yourself  you  are  living  a  consistent  life.  Thus  life 
passes  on.  The  day  of  judgment  comes.  "The  books 
are  opened."  And  here  in  God's  great  Book  of  remem- 
brance, is  the  record  of  your  whole  life.  Every  action 
is  therein  recorded,  and  "every  work  God  will  bring 
into  judgment." 

2.  But  the  Divine  judgment  will  extend  farther,  and 
reach  deeper  than  actions.  For  their  words  men  are  to 
be  judged.  The  Judge  says  :  "  Verily,  I  say  to  you,  that 
every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  ac- 
count thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment."  (Matt,  xii:  36.) 
Solemn,  startling  revelation  !  "A  man's  words  are  the 
evidence  on  which  he  is  to  be  tried  before  God."  His 
speech — the  words  that  proceed  out  of  his  mouth — are 
an  indication  of  the  true  principles  of  his  heart.  By 
words  the  heart  is  made  known,  as  the  tree  by  its  fruit. 
(Matt,  xii :  34.) 

Reader,  do  you  believe  this  ?  Do  you  believe  that  your 
zuords  are  recorded  in  God's  great  Book,  and  that  thev 
will  be  brought  up  for  judicial  investigation  in  the  final 
da)-?  Take  heed  to  your  speech.  Restrain  your  tongue 
from  evil.  Pray  that  God  would  set  a  watch  upon  your 
lips. 

3.  But  the  Divine  judgment  goes  still  farther  and 
deeper  than  "every  work,"  and  "  every  idle  word."  Your 
secret  thoughts  and  purposes ;  your  hidden  life — which 


JOSEPH  KING. 


589 


is  every  one's  true  life — must  pass  the  scrutiny  of  the 
omniscient  Judge.  Hear  the  word  of  God  :  "  Let  us  hear 
the  conchision  of  the  whole  matter  :  Fear  God,  and  keep 
his  commandments  :  for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man." 
And  what  is  the  reason  assigned  ?  The  fear  of  God,  and 
obedience  to  his  commandments,  are  urged  by  the  most 
powerful  reason.  "For  every  work  God  will  bring  into 
judgment,  together  with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be 
good  or  evil."  (Eccl.  xii:  13,  14.)  Every  secret  thing! 
Every  secret  thing,  both  good  and  evil!  "God  will 
judge  the  secrets  of  men  (r«  xm—a  zCov  dudfiwrrwu)  by 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  Gospel."  (Rom.  ii :  16.) 
God  will  "  bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness, 
and  will  make  manifest  the  counsels  of  every  heart."  The 
heart  makes  man  what  he  is,  and  determines  his  char- 
acter. 

O,  my  hearers,  the  judgment  of  God,  the  solemn 
scrutinies  of  the  Great  Day,  the  searchings  of  Jehovah, 
go  to  the  depths  of  your  being ;  to  your  thoughts,  desires, 
purposes,  aims,  the  moral  tendencies  of  your  life,  and  a 
full  revelation  of  the  whole  will  be  made.  Does  it  not 
become  you  to  strive  after  holiness  ;  to  be  deeply  in 
earnest  in  seeking  conformity  to  Christ,  and  in  aiming  to 
have  your  thoughts,  as  well  as  zvords  and  actions,  pure  ? 

The  poet  says:  "Things  are  not  what  they  seem." 
And  we  may  say,  some  men  are  not  what  they  seem. 
They  are  masked.  They  are  one  thing  externally,  and 
another  thing  internally.  Their  true  life  you  do  not 
see.  They  manage  to  conceal  it.  But  in  that  day,  to 
which  we  haste,  vails  will  be  rent  away,  and  every  man 
will  appear  before  God  and  the  world  in  his  true  char- 
acter. 

My  brethren,  do  not  be  false.    Be  what  you  profess 


590 


THE  LIVING  PULPIT. 


to  be.  Be  true  men ;  and,  above  all  things,  seek  to  be 
clear  of  the  last  vestige  of  hypocrisy.  Let  your  light 
shine. 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  let  me  ask:  Are  you  pre- 
pared for  this  searching,  righteous  judgment  of  God? 
O  man,  dying  man,  accountable  man,  "  Prepare  to  meet 
thy  God."  Delay  not  the  work  of  preparation.  The 
day  of  which  I  have  spoken;  the  final  day;  '-the  dying- 
day  of  the  world  ;"  "the  day  which  none  unholy  ought 
to  name,"  the  Day  of  Jtidgnient,  will  come.  It  is  draw- 
ing near.  Soon  it  will  come  upon  the  whole  world. 
May  God,  the  Judge  of  all,  approve  thee  in  that  day. 
Amen. 


The  End. 


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DATE  DUE 


— mts^ 



GAYLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U  S  A. 

